


When in London

by VlETATOMORIRE



Category: Eurovision Song Contest RPF, Fabrizio moro - Fandom, Festival di Sanremo RPF, ermal meta - Fandom, metamoro - Fandom
Genre: M/M, others will appear too, this is my first ever story published on here so be kind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-06-26 22:47:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 54,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15672831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VlETATOMORIRE/pseuds/VlETATOMORIRE
Summary: The Mobrici family go on a holiday. However as always something has to come and ruin their plans.





	1. Chapter 1

Fabrizio had finally managed to take a day off. A full day with no work in the studio, no interviews, no calls with people from his label, nothing. He had recently been way too busy for his, and his children's, liking. Whilst Anita and Libero understood that their father's job had usually kept him busy and away from home, in the recent weeks it had been difficult for the three of them to spend time together without some kind of interruption.

It's not that Fabrizio didn't try. He did and his kids knew that but it was hard at times. Especially on Anita. Libero, being 10, was kind of used to it now, understanding that there were times where their father didn't have much time for them but for Anita it was still a little difficult to understand.

But finally a day came where he could do anything that he wanted without worrying about being interrupted by anyone or anything. The Mobrici family had decided to spend the day out. First they went to the cinema for a morning screening of a kids movie that Anita really wanted to see. Then they went for lunch and ice-cream. Afterwards they made their way to the park, where Fabrizio and Libero were playing football and Anita sat on a blanket next to them, playing with her toys.

Libero carefully watched his father as he made his way towards the goal. It was currently 4-5 and Libero did not want to loose. He saw the ball flying towards him and he ran forward and kicked the ball, making it fly to the other side of the field they were in. Fabrizio watched the ball before turning to his son and laughing.

"I know you're supposed to defend the goal but come on Libero! That is way out!"

Libero looked at his father and laughed. He ran over to the blanket where Anita was and sat down on the grass, picking up a bottle of water and taking a drink, whilst grinning at his father.

"Maybe but I do not want to give you the satisfaction of winning."

Fabrizio rolled his eyes playfully and seeing that his son had no intention of running after the ball smiled at his children.

"Stay here. I will be right back."

With that he ran in the direction where Libero had kicked the ball. In the mean time, Libero had pulled out a packet of cookies from the bag that they had brought and opened it, offering them to his sister who put her dolls down and happily reached for the cookie.

"So what are you playing Anita?"

"Oh just dressing up my dolls for the ball that they are attending! Just like the one in the movie that we had seen."

Libero nodded, listening to his sister, as she continued telling him about the ball and the prince who would be attending. He had to admit to himself that his sister had a really big imagination. Still listening to her talking he looked up to see where their father was when he saw him talking and taking photos with a small group of girls. He sighed and rolled his eyes at that. Noticing that her brother wasn't listening to her anymore, Anita looked to see what her brother was looking at. After seeing her father talking with the girls, she turned to her brother, noticing that he looked a little upset.

"Does it upset you that papa is talking to those girls?"

Libero nodded, taking his eyes away from his father and taking another sip of water from the bottle, and looking at his sister.

"A little. I mean I'm sure that papa's fans are nice but today was supposed to be just us three. He has been away on tour for so long. Haven't his fans had enough chance to see him?"

"I think it's nice. They like papa. He makes them happy. Is that so bad? We get to see him more than they do. He is our papa."

Libero smiled at his sister. She didn't really understand it yet. He wasn't angry at his father or at his fans. He understood his father's job took a lot of his time and that he was famous and that being stopped and asked for photos was to be expected. Still, he wished that they could go somewhere, where his father wasn't famous, where they could do fun things and not be stopped.

"Libero!"

The boy looked up from the bottle of water that he was looking at to see his father sitting in front of him. Fabrizio had a worried look on his face. Libero had never zoned out like that. 'It was normal though, right? People do that all the time.' Libero smiled at his father.

"Si papa? Sorry I was just thinking."

"About anything specific?"

"Well...I was thinking, since you said that you had time off...maybe we could go somewhere on like a holiday? Somewhere abroad, somewhere nice?"

Fabrizio was a bit surprised by his sons request. He did have the time and money wasn't an issue so they could go on holiday but he was surprised as his son had never made such a request before.

"A holiday?"

"Yes. It's just that....we haven't really been outside of Italy on holiday much and Luca always goes somewhere with his parents...I thought that maybe we could go somewhere. I mean if we can...I understand if you're busy."

"No of course we can go somewhere. Is there anywhere you would like to go?"

Libero thought for a moment. He didn't really have anywhere specific in mind. He just suggested it. He didn't really expect his father to agree.

"Maybe London? There is a lot of things to see there after all. And I'd like to go see the Wembley Stadium. Also the Queen's palace would be a fun place to visit. Luca said he went there and that there was a park with pelicans near it."

At the mention of the word Queen and palace, Anita looked up from her toys, suddenly interested in the conversation.

"I want to see a Queen and a palace papa! Can we go there papa!?"

She got to her feet and moved to sit on Fabrizio's lap, her hands around his neck and she kissed his cheek and hugged him.

"Please papa!"

Fabrizio laughed softly and hugged his daughter, kissing the top of her head. Looking at Libero he nodded.

"Of course we can go tesoro. I don't know about seeing the Queen but I am sure that we will be able to see the palace."

Anita squealed and jumped to her feet, doing some kind of form of a happy dance and jumping up and down. Libero couldn't help himself and he too got to his feet and joined his sister. As much fun as he was having, he was hoping that no one from his school would walk by.

"Can we go tomorrow papa?!"

Fabrizio, who was in the process of taking a photo of his children, laughed at his daughters question.

"As much as I am excited to go to London with you, we can't just go like this. I have to book flights first and a hotel room and plan everything. Plus I have to speak with your mamma first."

However it seemed that the children weren't listening to him. Anita was too busy listening to her brother telling her about London. Or the few things he knew, most of them about football teams but the little girl didn't mind. She was excited for the visit and to see the Queen and the palace because in her mind, she would see the Queen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabrizio may or may not have forgotten he may have a visitor today.

They had stayed at the park for another hour, until Fabrizio said it was time to go home and cook something for dinner. The children obviously complained but Fabrizio promised them, that since none of them had to be up in the morning, they could stay past their bedtime tonight and watch a movie together, as long as it was a movie that both Anita and Libero agreed on. That seemed to be a good enough compromise for the children. When they had packed everything, they made their way to the car park, the children getting in the backseat, Libero helping Anita with her seatbelt, whilst Fabrizio packed their bags and the football in the car boot.

Once they were all set they began driving towards their house, when Libero asked if they had all the food needed for dinner. Thinking it through Fabrizio decided that even if they had everything, they could do with some more shopping. So 5 minutes later the Mobrici family were getting out of the car to do some shopping. Fabrizio got a shopping cart, with Anita sitting in it, and the family made their way inside the shop. They slowly made their way through the different isles, picking up the things that they needed and a few that they didn't because sometimes it was hard to say no to his children. Half an hour later, they were making their way towards the tills, Anita looking through the colouring book that she had picked out. It was another 20 minutes until they were back in the car and ready to head back home.

Unfortunately they had hit some traffic, meaning that it was another 30 minutes before they managed to get home. Fabrizio had given his phone to Anita, who was playing a dress up game that Fabrizio had downloaded a few days ago so she could play. Libero was on his own phone, which was his uncle Filippo's old phone, playing a football game, so the children didn't mind being stuck in traffic. Fabrizio on the other hand did. He could just feel some of the food defrosting in the car boot.

Finally they had made it back home and the kids went inside to watch some TV whilst Fabrizio quickly ran to the house with the bag of frozen food, putting it inside the freezer, before returning to the rest of the shopping. Going back in with the other bags, he could hear Anita squeal in happiness and the door leading to the back of the house slamming shut. Putting the shopping bags down in the hall he made his way to the living room and towards the glass doors to see what was going on. Anita was a responsible child but he was still worried and had to check what was going on.

Opening the door and stepping outside, he saw his daughter on the grass on top of someone talking excitedly. His daughters victim, looked up at him and grinned. Fabrizio nearly cursed. It's not that he forgot that Ermal said he was in Rome and that would most likely come and visit them but he may have forgotten.

"Come on Anita. Get off poor Ermal."

The girl listened to her father and got off Ermal, still talking excitedly. Fabrizio offered Ermal his hand, helping the younger man off the floor. 

"Anita, how about you go and put the toys in your bag away and go get changed, alright? Don't worry Ermal will still be here."

The girl nodded, walking towards the door leading back into the house but not before stopping to turn and look at Ermal with a serious look on her face.

"Don't worry Zio. I'll tell you all about the movie we saw later."

"Oh I look forward to it very much."

With a satisfied smile, the girl left and Ermal chuckled softly as he turned his attention to the older man, who looked slightly confused, though it was clear he tried to hide it. Ermal laughed softly embracing the older man.

"You forgot didn't you?"

_Yes._

"No. You said you were going to text when you would be on your way."

Fabrizio chuckled softly as he held the younger man close. It had been a while since the two managed to spend some time just hanging out and he would be lying if he said he didn't miss Ermal. After spending so much time together through Sanremo, Eurovision, the many festivals they performed together at, it was weird to barely see him and Fabrizio had missed his constant presence. Hell, he even missed his sarcastic comments. A few days ago he got a text from Ermal saying that he would be in Rome for a few days for some TV appearance and if Fabrizio had the time to see him. Naturally Fabrizio agreed. He paid no attention to the way his heart skipped a beat when he read the text from Ermal. Or the way he started grinning right away.

"No you didn't. I got no texts unless...Anita."

"What about her?"

"I gave her my phone to play a game when we were stuck in traffic. Sorry."

Ermal chuckled softly and shook his head. He found it cute how apologetic Fabrizio sounded. Cute? Did he just think of Fabrizio as cute? Huh.

Fabrizio began making his way inside, he still had quite a bit of shopping to bring into the house and put away. Not to mention cooking dinner. Ermal offered to help him and 15 minutes later everything was put away and Fabrizio was staring at his fridge thinking what to make for dinner.

"How adventurous are you feeling?"

Ermal looked up from his phone, he was texting Paolo about some concerts in Europe they were trying to organise. He was slightly confused.

"Adventurous? Not much. Just hungry."

In the end Fabrizio just settled on a simple pasta dish. It was quick to prepare and he knew that the kids would enjoy it and Ermal said he was so hungry he would eat Fabrizio if he didn't hurry up. He said it in a joking way but Fabrizio's mind went somewhere else and as he was opening the cupboard to get a plate he had to stop for several seconds. Alright, where did that come from? He had never thought about Ermal in such a way. Where the /hell/ did that come from? Quickly brushing it off, he got the plate and returned to making dinner.

Once everything was ready, Fabrizio called the children to the table and served dinner. He poured all of them a glass of water, as well as a glass of wine for himself and Ermal. Dinner was a pleasant affair. Anita and Libero were both excitedly telling Ermal about the trip to London they would be making. For the most part, Fabrizio didn't really say much, he just enjoyed the food and listening to his children and Ermal, occasionally when Anita and Libero actually allowed him to say something. When everyone had finished their dinner, Fabrizio collected their dishes and loaded the dishwasher. Ermal wanted to help but Anita and Libero were still busy telling him about everything they've done today. Apparently they've said everything they could about London. Fabrizio couldn't help but smile as he leaned against the kitchen counter just watching the children talking excitedly with Ermal. It made him happy that they liked him so much. He thought how nice it would be if this could be a daily thing and once again he had to stop himself. Since when did he think about Ermal in such a way?

He realised years ago that he was bisexual but the only person he ever told this, was his sister. Not because he was ashamed or scared but because it wasn't honestly anyone else's business and at that time him and his sister were both slightly drunk and he kind of slipped out that he liked a guy that he was at school with. The fact that surprised him wasn't the fact that he was attracted to a man but the fact it was Ermal but as he watched Anita showing Ermal her new colouring book, he allowed his mind to wander. Why was he surprised it was Ermal? He was a handsome man and they had spent a lot of time together, getting to know each other. Then again, he should have seen this coming. He loved Ermal's sarcastic nature and how the man wasn't afraid to speak his mind. He loved the way Ermal would tie his hair back so it didn't get in the way. Or the way he would sometimes do little jumps on the spot moments before going on stage to warm up. And hundreds of other things, which now that he thought about, he was probably the only person who noticed.

Suddenly he felt something hit him, and he noticed a balled up napkin fall onto the floor before him. Looking up he saw the kids laughing and Ermal trying to hold back a smirk.

"He's all yours kids."

"Can we go and play some games on the laptop papa?"

He couldn't say no to his kids and he let them but only for an hour. 30 minutes each. He trusted Libero to keep an eye on the time and on his sister. Picking up a packet of cigarettes from the counter, he followed Ermal outside, sitting down on one of the chairs outside.

"Are you alright? You seemed really lost in thought."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about London and how we're going to manage with my limited English."

Ermal chuckled softly but knew that that wasn't all but he didn't ask. He knew that if it was something bad, Fabrizio would have told him. He lit his cigarette and sat back, enjoying the feeling of the setting sun on his face.

"So how are the preparations for your European shows going?"

"Not bad. We're having some issues with the venue in Berlin but it's nothing that can't be fixed. The Paris venue is apparently already being bombarded with calls about tickets even though the tickets don't go on sale for another week. Plus with is being such short notice, we didn't think people would be this keen."

Fabrizio rolled his eyes playfully. Of course Ermal could sell out these venues in Europe with a days notice. He was sure of it. It was clear people loved Ermal and he didn't blame them. And there it was again. He shoved those thoughts aside.

"Look at you Meta. You international star. Of course they are. Even with a few weeks' notice you could announce concerts and watch them sell out. Mark my words."

Ermal waved his hand. Fabrizio was just being nice. He knew he had fans in other European countries but he doubted it was enough to sell out several venues across Europe with a few weeks' notice. He felt guilty for the short notice but he really wanted to do shows across Europe and those were the only dates he could do it. Though it seemed his fans didn't mind. Of course some were upset but none of them blamed him.

"If you did shows in other countries you'd sell out too you know Fabri."

"Oh come on. I'd probably sell 10 tickets per show. If that."

"You really need to get on Twitter more Fabri. Trust me. You could sell out venues across Europe."

Fabrizio smiled softly at Ermal, even though he doubted that he could do that, deep inside he believed Ermal. They finished their cigarettes in silence. Sitting in silence, enjoying the soon, Fabrizio was about to ask Ermal whether he wanted another glass of wine when he heard the upstairs window open.

"Zio Ermal!"

Both men looked up at Anita in the window, thankfully he knew that his daughter was smart enough not to lean out of a window and he could see Libero with his arm around her anyway. He smiled softly. He was lucky to have children like them.

"Si, Anita?"

"Are you staying with us for the night? We're going to watch Ratatouille and eat popcorn!"

So the children had agreed on a movie. Good. At least that would save them the several minutes of the two screaming at each other that they didn't want to watch 'whatever stupid movie he/she chose'. Ermal looked at Fabrizio as if asking him permission. Fabrizio only laughed.

"As if you'd be able to say no to Anita. Plus I kind of assumed that you would be staying."

"So a pyjama party then?"

He answered looking up at the window, where Anita squealed in delight and ran back into the room, presumably to get changed into her pyjama's. Libero smiled and shut the window, disappearing back into the room. Ermal on the other hand looked at Fabrizio.

"Yeah I may have left my bag at the hotel and we've both had wine. So to save the time it'd take me to get a taxi there and back, can I borrow some clothes?"

Fabrizio laughed and nodded, getting up from the chair, taking their wine glasses inside. They might as well have some more wine then.

"You know where my room and clothes are. Help yourself."

Ermal smiled softly and made his way upstairs to rummage through Fabrizio's clothes. Once he got to his room, he headed for the wardrobe. He picked out a pair of jogging bottoms and, with a smirk, Fabrizio's favourite Motorhead t-shirt. He couldn't help but smile, noticing how the shirt smelled of Fabrizio. He stopped for a second. So what if the shirt smelled like him? It was Fabrizio's t-shirt after all. Once he was done, he made his way downstairs, where Fabrizio was already making popcorn, the children were on the sofa in their pyjama's and the movie menu already playing in the background.

"Can you watch the popcorn whilst I go change?"

Ermal nodded and Fabrizio made his way upstairs to get changed. The older man was now free to blush, noticing how good Ermal looked in his clothes. Especially his t-shirt. Now was not the time to fantasise. Not wanting to delay movie night any longer, he quickly picked up a random t-shirt and a pair of shorts and made his way downstairs so they could get on with watching the movie.

"Alright. So who's ready for movie night?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here's Uncle Ermal!  
> You know I'm a sucker for Ermal interacting with kids. Of course he's a great uncle.  
> Also, finally, after months Fabrizio is realises that he has a crush on Ermal.  
> Better late than never. Welcome to the club Bizio. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and do let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ermal too lets his mind wander and the two grown men are so oblivious it hurts.

 

Once the movie had finished Fabrizio stretched slightly and looked at the others to see that Libero was the only one who was awake, barely but awake. Smiling softly at his son, he reached over and gently ruffled his hair.

"Go to sleep Libero. You're practically falling asleep."

"I will. Buona notte papa."

Fabrizio smiled at his son as he began making his way upstairs. He then allowed himself to look at Ermal and Anita and he couldn't help his smile growing. Anita was sitting on Ermal's lap, her hands wrapped around his neck and her head resting on his shoulder, fast asleep. Ermal had his arm wrapped around Anita and he too was fast asleep. Fabrizio couldn't help himself but stare. Imagining that all their evenings could look like this. Ermal and Anita falling asleep on the sofa whilst watching movies. Or even Ermal and himself falling asleep on the sofa. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. What should he do with these new found feelings he was having for his friend? He didn't want to ruin their friendship but a part of him was telling him to do it. After a while he shoved that voice to the side and decided to keep his feelings for himself. For the love of God. Until recently Ermal was in a 9 year relationship with a woman and he never expressed having any interest in men. Yes, keeping the feelings to himself would be the smartest move.

Opening his eyes he slowly, so not to wake Ermal, stood up from the sofa and made his way to the other side and slowly detangling his daughter from Ermal and picking her up. With Anita now in his arms, he made his way towards the stairs.

"Bizio?"

Turning around, he saw Ermal sitting up on sofa, rubbing his eyes and looking at him slightly confused. He ignored the way his heart did summersaults when he heard Ermal call him Bizio.

"I'm just going to put Anita to bed. I will be back in a moment."

With that he made his way up the stairs and to Anita's bedroom, where he placed the girl in her bed and covered her with a blanket. He placed a soft kiss to her forehead, made sure that the nightlight was on and her teddy by her side, before leaving the room and going to check on Libero. The boy was fast asleep by now and Fabrizio walked over to the bed and placed a soft kiss to his forehead. He knew that had his son been awake he'd probably be telling Fabrizio to leave and that he was grown up now but Fabrizio couldn't help himself. Libero may be 10 but to Fabrizio he will always be his little boy. Shutting the door to Libero's room behind him, Fabrizio made his way downstairs only to find the living room empty. He saw the back door open. Smiling softly, he picked up his packet of cigarettes and went to join Ermal outside.

"I got you more wine."

He smiled softly and sat down, picking up his wine glass and taking a sip, then lighting his cigarette.

"The kids asleep?"

"I don't think an earthquake could even wake them."

Ermal chuckled softly as he looked at Fabrizio, sipping his wine.

"Thanks for letting my stay with you."

"Oh please. You're always welcome here." A moment of silence. "How was the recording?"

Ermal exhaled the smoke from his cigarette and shrugged.

"Normal. The usual. Fabio keeps fussing over my hair and telling me I need to cut it. That it's getting too long. I might give it a slight trim but I like it like this."

_So do I_ , Fabrizio thoughts to himself. However Ermal continued talking before the older man even had the chance to respond.

"For the most part my presence wasn't necessary if I'm being honest. They asked two questions about the European shows and that's about it. I think they were just trying to use me as an excuse to get more viewers. Had it not been for the fact that I'm seeing you, this trip would have been a waste of my time."

Fabrizio's heart totally did not just do summersaults again when Ermal said that. _Had it not been for seeing him_. He told himself to not get his hopes up. After all they were friends and friends look forward to seeing each other.

"Anita and Libero loved having you here today."

Ermal laughed at that and nodded.

"Oh I could tell. Anita talks so fast! And with the Roman accent I sometimes had to think for a while to understand what she was saying. You're rubbing off on her Fabri."

He knew that the younger man was only teasing he couldn't help but feel his heart melt when he saw the smile appear on Ermal's face as he talked about Anita.

"She misses you a lot you know. _'_ When is Zio Ermal going to come and visit?' Practically all the time. The other week we were at my sisters and Filippo wouldn't let Anita do something and all I could hear from the other end of the garden was 'And that's why Ermal is better!' It was quite amusing really."

Ermal's smile grew even more. He felt bad for Fabrizio's brother but he also felt happy and proud that Anita thought he was the better uncle. Even though they weren't related as such but still. He cared a lot about Anita and Libero. They were Fabrizio's kids of course but the spent a lot of time together and Fabrizio either had the kids with him or would always talk about them and they're such sweet kids that it was hard to not love them. Ermal picked up his wine glass and took a sip, thinking how amazing it would have been if he was part of this family. Just him Fabrizio and the kids. As that thought entered his mind, he nearly choked on his wine, though he did try to pass it off as a cough. Where did this come from? Why was he think about this? What did it mean? Did he want to be in a relationship with Fabrizio? Speaking of the man, he looked at him and smiled, to show him he was okay and when Fabrizio turned his attention to his cigarette, Ermal couldn't help but allow his gaze to linger on the older man for a few seconds more. After all, Fabrizio was a very handsome man. But Fabrizio was a straight, of that he was sure. Nothing suggested that the other was interested in men and Ermal wasn't about to try anything stupid and ruin their friendship.

"What are you thinking about Ermal?"

"Huh?"

"You've got that look on your face you always have when you're deep in thought. Anything troubling you? I'm no professional therapist but after a few glasses of alcohol isn't that what all friends become?"

Yes. _**Friends**_. Ermal smiled but inside he felt as if a dream or shard of hope that he didn't even know was in there had disappeared.

"Just thinking to the tour. Thinking of what kind of madness I can expect it other countries. I know I did the tour last year but that was before Eurovision. I think I may have a bit more people, who aren't Italian at that, who like my music and the venues are slightly bigger than last year and....Hey! You should come to London the week of my concert there. I think I might have two days free in London. One before and one after the concert. I could spend that time sightseeing with you. That is if you want me there of course. I don't want to interrupt your family time."

Fabrizio grinned from behind his wine glass and shook his head.

"Of course you wouldn't be interrupting and I think Anita and Libero would stop talking to me if they found out that I told you that you can't join us in London. It sounds like a good idea. To be honest I wasn't sure when to go but now I've got a date."

He of course meant date as in a set date but he couldn't help but blush slightly (thank God it was dark outside) when he realised the double meaning those words could have had. Ermal on the other side was grinning behind his own wine glass. Fabrizio said he had a date. Of course he meant a date as in when he could go but Ermal couldn't help himself and think of it as a date date. He noticed Fabrizio trying to hold back a yawn so he finished the rest of his wine and got up.

"I think it's time for bed for the both of us."

Fabrizio stood up and nodded.

"Agreed. Let me just quickly get the guest bedroom sorted for you. Sorry should have done that earlier."

Locking the back door behind him and making sure the front door was locked and the house alarm set, Fabrizio and Ermal made their way upstairs towards the guest bedroom. Fabrizio quickly changed the bedsheets for Ermal, all the while apologizing and saying he should have done it sooner.

"It's alright. It's just me. It's not like I'm the Queen."

Fabrizio chuckled softly and nodded. Once he was done, making sure everything was fine and if Ermal had enough pillows and whether he was hungry or wanted some water or maybe he wanted an extra blanket. Ermal was touched by this but also Fabrizio wouldn't stop thinking of things to ask if he needed or wanted. A part of him wanted to kiss Fabrizio to shut him up but of course that would be crossing a line. So instead he grabbed Fabrizio's face with his hands and looked into his eyes.

"Bizio. I'm fine. Everything is perfect. Thank you."

Fabrizio was kind of surprised when Ermal grabbed his face and he didn't really know what to do next as he looked into Ermal's eyes. The younger man had such intense eyes and usually you would be able to tell what he was thinking or feeling by looking into them but other times it was impossible to tell whether he was happy, hungry, sad or pissed off and right now was one of those moments. Which was unlucky for Fabrizio because he really was terrible at understanding this situation. After a while he just sighed and smiled softly.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure everything was alright for you."

"It's more than alright Bizio. Thank you."

"Well good night Ermal. I'll leave a towel for you in the bathroom. The big red one you used last time. I mean I washed it since, don't worry."

Ermal couldn't help but chuckled as he slowly watched Fabrizio leave the room, a part of him wanting to grab the older man by the arm and pull him close but he stayed where he was standing.

"Thank you Bizio. Good night."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow 3 chapters in one day  
> I am on a roll and I know I could just save it and upload it tomorrow but   
> I don't trust my computer to delete it or something.   
> So once again let me know what you think.   
> Yes this will take a while to actually get /to/ London but shh.
> 
> Also I finally figured out that rich text option is the bit where you can put things in italics etc   
> yay for me figuring out technology


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ermal has to leave to go back to Milan and it’s not pretty.

Feeling the sun shine on his face Ermal woke up. He laid still in bed for a few seconds before stretching slightly. He would be lying if he said  he didn’t feel like death and they didn’t even drink that much. Christ, what kind of wine was Fabrizio buying? Sitting up he stretched once again before getting to his feet. He picked up the pair of jogging bottoms that Fabrizio had borrowed him and got dressed before making his way out of the room. 

He could hear some kids movie playing downstairs and after listening for a few seconds he realised it was the Lion King. He made his way to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. His hair was a mess and he really did look like death. Splashing some water on his face, he turned around and picked up the towel that Fabrizio had left for him. Once he dried his face he made his way downstairs, smiling at Anita as she spotted him. 

“Zio!” 

She got up from the sofa and ran towards him, meeting him at the bottom of the stairs, hugging him. 

“Good morning Anita. Did you sleep well?”

The little girl nodded and pulled him towards the sofa, making him sit down, before climbing onto his lap and turning her attention to the movie. Huh. Looked like Ermal wasn’t getting any say in this.

”Where’s your papà Anita?”

”He’s outside with Libero.”

”Maybe I should go and tell him that I’m awake?”

Anita looked at him and was silent for a moment, clearly thinking this through. Then without any warning she shouted.

”PAPÀ!”

Ermal had no time to react and cover his ears. On the other side he was impressed at how loud Anita could shout. Soon enough, he was pulled out of his thoughts by Fabrizio and Libero running into the living, scared looks on their faces. Seeing those faces Ermal felt guilty but Anita spoke without even looking at her brother and father.

”Zio Ermal is awake.” 

Ermal looked apologetically at Fabrizio and Libero. 

“Sorry. I’ve been taken hostage.”

Anita snickered at that, making herself more comfortable on Ermal’s lap as she watched the movie.

”Come on Anita. Ermal is probably hungry and wants to eat something.” 

Anita looked accusingly at her father which caused Ermal to laugh.

”Your papà is right Anita but I promise you I will come back after I finish breakfast. Is that okay?”

Anita thought about it and nodded, moving off Ermal’s lap and sitting down on the sofa beside her brother. Ermal stood up and walked over to the kitchen, where Fabrizio passed him a coffee and gestured to a plate of pastries. 

“Help yourself.” 

Ermal smiled and picked up a croissant and put it on a plate before picking up his coffee and going to sit outside. 

“Did you sleep well?”

”Yeah. I feel like shit though. That wine was lethal Fabri.”

Fabrizio only chuckled and shook his head as he sipped his own coffee. It was his third already and he should probably slow down but he didn’t care.

”What? Can’t handle your alcohol already?”

”Oh please! We know that out the two of us you’re the lightweight Bizio.”

”Yeah right!”

It was a lie on Ermal’s part. Just because that one night in Lisbon Fabrizio made the mistake of mixing too many kinds of alcohol and needing assistance from Ermal and Andrea to get to his hotel room. But it was one time only and only because he mixed. To this day he still wonders 

a) why he agreed to do shots with Eugent 

and

b) What shots did they even drink? Because it sure as hell wasnt vodka or tequila

”I’m pretty sure that Andrea would beg to differ.” 

Ermal teased Fabrizio. It was fun. He didn’t tease him to be mean and Fabrizio knew that. Besides, usually it’s Fabrizio who roasts Ermal when there is no one around.

”Bushpepa is to be blamed and you know it!”

Ermal only smirked on reply, before looking at his phone as he got a text message. Fabrizio waited for Ermal to reply before speaking again.

”When do you have to head back?” 

He didn’t want Ermal to go and he could tell that Ermal didn’t want to go either but they both knew that responsibility called. 

“I suppose I’ll have a shower and get a taxi back to my hotel to pick up my stuff and go from there. I have a meeting with Paolo and some other people from the label first thing in the morning tomorrow.”

”I can drive you?”

Ermal raised an eyebrow and looked at Fabrizio.

”What, to Milan? Don’t be ridiculous!”

”I meant the hotel but I’d happily drive you to Milan should the need ever arise.”

Ermal could have melted at that. Fabrizio was too good to him. Too good to be anything more than a friend, Ermal thought to himself.

”It’s alright Fabri. I’ll get a taxi. You know how Anita gets and I’d rather spare you the car ride back home with a crying Anita.” 

He hated the fact that him leaving made Anita cry. He never wanted to see her cry. If it was up to him he’d stay at the Mobrici household forever. He took a deep breath and finished his coffee and the last of his croissant. Standing up he made his way back into the house, quickly washing up his plate and cup. 

“Right. I’ll have a shower and I’ll get going.”

Fabrizio only nodded and as Ermal went upstairs, he began cleaning up the kitchen, putting every thing away where it was supposed to be. He was used to the house being somewhat a mess, with two kids around, but his kitchen (and studio) always had to be clean. No matter what.

20 minutes later Ermal came back downstairs, already dressed in his clothes from yesterday. Seeing him, Anita knew that only meant one thing. 

“Are you leaving already?”

Ermal recognised that voice and it broke his heart. He knew that any moment now Anita would start crying and he hated being the reason behind her tears.

”Yes Anita and I’m sorry but I have to go back to Milan.” 

He sat beside her on the sofa and pulled her onto his lap, holding her close.

”But you never stay long! You always have to go! It’s not fair!”

A few tears fell down her cheeks and Ermal quickly wiped them away with one hand, the other gently rubbing her back.

”I know and I hate that. If I could I would always stay here with you. How about this, when I get back home tonight I will Skype you. Is that okay?”

The girl nodded, not satisfied but it was better than nothing. Fabrizio on the other hand was going through an inner battle. Ermal said if it was up to him he’d always stay here. Did that mean he’s want to live with them? No, of course not. He was only saying this to make Anita feel better. Soon Ermal felt his phone vibrate and looked at the text.

”Ah the taxi is here.” 

He got up from the sofa and gave Anita one last hug. He then hugged Libero.

”Take care of Anita alright? Make sure she’s smiling.”

Libero smiled and nodded.

”Of course I will. Bye Zio. We’ll miss you.”

”I’ll miss you too.”

Libero then took Anita outside so they could play, to take her mind of Ermal leaving. He’d even allow her to play on his skateboard.

Fabrizio looked at Ermal and smiled. He knew they didn’t have long as the taxi was waiting. 

“I’ll miss you too you know.”

”I’ll miss you too Bizio. Thank you for letting me stay the night. Let me know about London yeah?”

There it was again. Fabrizio’s heart doing somersaults at being called Bizio.

”Oh stop if. You’re always welcome here and don’t worry I will! I’ll go to see Giada tomorrow and see if she won’t mind me taking the kids.” 

Ermal smiled softly at him as he stepped out the front door.

”Bye Fabri! See you soon!”

”See you soon!”

And with that Fabrizio watched Ermal get in the taxi and leave. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone and their mothers @ me: why do you write like you’re running out of time?
> 
> I honestly have so many ideas and I just need to write because I know when I fall asleep they’ll be gone.   
> So here’s chapter 4. If only writing essays for university was that easy,


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some night time texting and Fabrizio listens to Ermal's advice.

It had been a long day since Ermal left. Throughout the day Anita cried a total of 3 times because she missed Ermal and didn't want him to leave. However thanks to Libero she didn't cry for a long time. He'd always find something to occupy her with and take her mind of Ermal. Fabrizio was proud of his son, he always looked out for Anita and played with her when she asked him to. Not that they didn't argue, the onetime Fabrizio walked into Libero's room having heard Anita screaming only to see his son threatening to throw his sisters favourite teddy out the window. Of course they argued, they were siblings after all but for the most part Libero was the perfect older brother.

Due to all the crying Anita tired out pretty quickly and was asleep and in bed by 20:30. Same as the previous night, Fabrizio made sure the night light was on and that her favourite teddy was next to her before making his way downstairs where Libero was watching a programme about football.

"Can I stay up a little longer papa? The programme finishes at ten."

"Sure. Just don't complain if your sister wakes you up in the morning."

Libero nodded and turned his attention back to the TV. Fabrizio sat down at the table, looking at different hotels in London for the week of Ermal's concert. It was perfect timing. That week fell on the last week of the children's summer holidays. A nice trip before they would have to start school again. Anita would be starting primary school this year and Libero was in his final year of primary school. At least Anita would be at the same school as her brother for at least a year. This will be enough for her to get used to it. He was worried. Of course he was, his little girl would be starting school but he knew that Libero would look out for her and not to mention that Anita was a smart girl. She would be fine.

When the programme finished, Libero turned off the TV, wished his father a good night and went upstairs. Fabrizio was still looking at things that they could do in London. He was looking at different 'attraction packages'. He would definitely take the kids to the London Eye and Madame Tussauds. Maybe Ermal would like to join them on the London Eye. It would be nice. The four of them, overlooking the London skyline. Picking up his phone, he quickly typed out a message to Ermal.

**_To: Ermal_ **

**_Ciao. I'm looking at things to do in London with the kids and was wondering if you'd like to come on the London Eye with us?_ **

Ermal, who had gotten home only 10 minutes ago and was currently laying on the sofa listening to Tom Odell's new album, his eyes closed, felt his phone vibrate. Reaching towards the table he sighed before picking it up. Noticing that it was a text from Fabrizio he couldn't help but smile. Fabrizio was asking him if he'd like to join him and the kids on the London Eye. He couldn't hide how happy that made him. Not that he had to. He was alone in his own house. No one would see him if he sat here grinning like a fool over a text from his friend. Yes, friend. Because that was all him and Fabrizio were.

His eyes fell on the time and he saw that it was already past 22:00. He should probably go to bed soon. He had to wake up ridiculously early tomorrow and he knew that falling asleep in a meeting with people from his label wasn't the best idea. He typed out a reply to Fabrizio with a soft smile on his face.

**_To: Bizio_ **

**_Ciao, ciao! That sounds great! I look forward to it very much. I hope that Anita wasn't too upset when I left._ **

Fabrizio was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth before going to bed. He might as well and he knew that Anita would wake up early anyway. Seeing how early she fell asleep. Plus he was going to go and see Giada tomorrow to tell her about their planned trip and to make sure it was alright for him to take the children to London. Not that she would forbid it but she was their mother and obviously had a say in this. Even though they were no longer together he and Giada remained good friends. She had recently mentioned that she had started seeing someone. His name was Michele, if Fabrizio remembered correctly. It would be nice to meet him and see what he was like. Not that he didn't trust Giada to make the right choices when it came to men but he obviously wanted to see what the other man was like, especially since his children would be spending time around him.

He was drying his face when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, knowing it must have been Ermal. He smiled at the text, touched that Ermal cared about Anita.

**_To: Ermal_ **

**_Great! I'll probably let you know tomorrow whether we'll be coming that week, if at all. She was upset but Libero did his best to keep her occupied. He even joined her for one of her tea parties that she has with her toys._ **

Sending the reply, he turned the light off in the bathroom and made his way towards his bedroom. He quickly got changed and laying in bed, he unlocked his phone, not really knowing why. He had no texts to reply to. His attention was caught by the Twitter app icon and Ermal's words about him using Twitter more often echoed in his mind. Well it wouldn't hurt to try would it?

He loaded the app and looked at his timeline. The top 2 tweets were from Ermal. One thanking his fans, one complaining about traffic and another was an article about his upcoming European shows that Ermal had rt'ed. Fabrizio clicked on the notifications button. He never really used Twitter to like or reply to fans tweets but it wouldn't hurt to start to.

As soon as his notifications loaded he was quite overwhelmed by the sheer number of tweets. Quite a few of them were in different languages. He saw a few in Spanish. It seemed the one he looked at was from his Spanish fanclub. Since when did he have a Spanish fanclub? He clicked on the tweet and saw that there was an option that translated it so he clicked on that and a few seconds later the translation popped up.

_So with Ermal Meta doing European shows who here would love to see @FabrizioMoroOff do some as well? Obviously Spain here!_

He scrolled down looking at replies, seeing people naming different countries and cities in Spain that they wanted him to visit. Should he reply to that tweet? But what would he say? Instead, he liked the fanclub's tweet and clicked on their profile. He thought for a moment and decided to follow them. That's what you're supposed to do right? Follow your fanclubs?

He went back to his mentions and saw one where someone did a drawing of him. It was really good and Fabrizio actually had to double check to make sure it wasn't just a photo. He liked the photo and RT'ed it. He also typed a quick reply, thanking the girl for the drawing, saying that he loved it and that she was very talented. He continued scrolling down through his mentions, liking tweets and replying to some. He also followed a few more fan accounts. A French and UK fanclub. He chuckled softly thinking about the UK fanclub. He wondered what the people running that account would think when they found out he was going to London. He decided to tweet something, that wasn't just his tour poster or a link where people could buy tour tickets.

He scrolled through his photo's, deciding to post the photo he took earlier in the park of Anita and Libero jumping up and down. He thought what he  write along with it.  He can't just post it and not write a caption. He finally settled on a simple caption.

_Celebrations in the park_ (and a heart emoji)

He went back to his notifications, noticing that they were appearing faster than he could read them all. One in specific made him chuckle.

_Is that....Fabrizio Moro using twitter as it was intended to be used?_ (along with a gif of a man looking surprised)

He planned on going to sleep but well...he was having way too much fun with this. He could see why Ermal used the app so often. It was actually quite fun and it seemed that his fans were also having fun. Clicking on the tweet, he liked it and typed a quick reply.

_Ermal made me do it._

Refreshing his notifications he saw several tweets with people saying how cute the photo of Anita and Libero were. After replying to a few more tweets and liking a dozen more, he decided that it was enough for the night. He put his phone on his night stand and got comfortable in bed when he felt his phone vibrate. Reaching for his phone he saw it was a text from Ermal.

**_From: Ermal_ **

**_Are you....using twitter?_ **

**_From: Bizio_ **

**_Yes. You did tell me to do it and it is fun._ **

**_From: Ermal_ **

**_Wow...I'm proud. See technology isn't all that bad._ **

**_From: Bizio_ **

**_stronzo_ **

He stayed awake for a few minutes later and was about to put his phone away when Ermal replied once again. He saw that it was a photo as well as a winky face emoji. He clicked on it and saw that it was a photo of himself from Lisbon, not the most flattering, with a photo of a llama beside it for comparison.

"Bastardo."

He chuckled softly to himself at the photo. Trust Ermal to find something like that. He replied with a laughing emoji and texted a quick good night before putting his phone away and going to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is that....fabrizio mobrici using twitter like it was intended to be used??
> 
> expect several updates today because once again i have nothing to do  
> plus im having too much fun with this  
> I currently know more about the current school system in italy than I do about the one in Poland (which is where I'm originally from) so thats that.
> 
> yeah this fic might be a very very slow burn  
> hashtag sorry not sorry
> 
> once again, let me know what you think, if i get anything wrong (when it comes to italian or phrases or anything, do not hesitate to let me know.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neither Ermal or Fabrizio realise just how obvious they're being.

The next morning after waking up and making breakfast for Anita and Libero, Fabrizio sat outside sipping his coffee. He called Giada and asked if it was alright if they came over around lunch time as Fabrizio needed to speak with her about something. Once Giada confirmed that it was alright and that she would be home and that they should come hungry because she'd be cooking, he hung up the phone and after checking on the children, he made his way to his studio. He made sure to leave the door open so he could hear should the children call him.

He sat down on the mini sofa he had in there, his guitar in hand and he just played. He didn't really play any new music, nothing would come to him at the moment anyway. Fabrizio just found it calming to just sit, strumming his guitar and thinking. It relaxed him. Before he even knew it, he had started playing one of his old songs _"Ti amo anche se sei di Milano"._ As he played continued to play the song and hum along, images of Ermal popped up in his mind, because of course they would. Now that he was alone he allowed himself to dwell more on these new found feelings. He tried to remember if he felt like this about Ermal before this weekend. Maybe not so much but he realised that he sometimes did things that weren't necessary. Like hugging Ermal for a little longer than normal, or the constant touches and kisses to his cheek. He allowed himself to wonder if maybe Ermal thought the same way. If maybe the reason that Ermal never shied away from touches was because he felt the same way? He didn't want to get his hopes up, he didn't want to ruin their friendship. However now he had the urge to text Ermal. Picking up his phone, he unlocked it and sighed. Thinking for a while he just texted a simple greeting.

**_To: Ermal_ **

**_Ciao! How did the meeting go? All is well I hope!_ **

 

Ermal was about to put his shoes on and leave to meet his brother and mother. Just before his meeting, Ermal received a text from Rinald saying that their mother came up for a surprise visit and whether he'd be free for the rest of the day. Even if he wasn't he'd make sure to make time for his mother. Though luckily for him, the meeting was the only thing he had on today. After the meeting ended, he made his way back home to make himself more presentable. It was one thing wearing the first things he pulled out of his wardrobe for a meeting with his manager and a few other people from the label but another thing looking like that when he went to see his mother. So here he was, about to make his way out to meet his family when he got a text from Fabrizio.

**_To: Bizio_ **

**_It went well. The venue in Berlin has now been changed because the management of the first one wanted to make the concert an 18+ event._ **

After he sent his reply, he put his phone into his pocket and headed out to meet his family. It didn't take him long to arrive at the restaurant they agreed to meet at. Walking inside he spotted his brother and mother and with a smile on his face made his way towards them.

"Ciao mamma, ciao Rinald."

Ermal's mother got up from her seat to hug her son.

"Ciao Ermal. How are you? You look as if you haven't slept properly in a long time. You're overworking yourself."

Ermal could only smile as he sat down and listened to his mother fuss over him. It was like this every time they saw each other so all he knew to do was just to say 'yes and no' and smile at her.

"Everything is fine. I just had an early meeting today so I've been up since 6 but besides that I am fine. Trust me mamma, I get a proper full night's sleep."

They spent the rest of lunch talking about random things as well as Ermal's tour as well as the boys asking their mother how their sister was. When they had finished with their food they had agreed on ordering some desert as it had started raining outside and neither of them had wanted to move.

"Are you sure you're alright Ermal? You keep glancing at your phone. Is something wrong?"

Was he glancing at his phone? He didn't realise it. He was looking whether Fabrizio had replied to his text message. It's been nearly 2 hours since he sent his last text and no reply. Though he didn't understand why it bothered him so much? Fabrizio was probably at Giada's like he said he would or he was playing with the children. He glanced at his phone once again, this time somewhat confused.

"Is it a girl?"

When Ermal didn't respond to brother's question, his mother only chuckled softly.

"Or is it a boy?"

This got Ermal's attention. He tried to play it off cool, that he was just lost in thought but inside he knew that his mother didn't believe him. He looked at her and smiled softly and she reached out and gently rubbed his eyes.

 "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. It's nothing mamma. Don't worry about me. Everything is fine."

She smiled softly at him and nodded, but he could tell she wasn't convinced. Ermal knew that she wasn't going to leave this alone. They spent the rest of the time in the restaurant talking about Rinald's upcoming art exhibition. Once they finished their dessert and it stopped raining Ermal paid for their food and they slowly made their way outside and towards Rinald's house for coffee and to just spend some time together. As they walked to Rinald's house, Ermal typed out another text to Fabrizio.

**_To: Bizio_ **

**_Is everything alright? Are you able to take the kids to London in those dates?_ **

 

****

Fabrizio had been at Giada's for an hour now. He hasn't brought up the trip to London. He had finally met Giada's new boyfriend, Mateo.  Okay so his name wasn't Michele after all. He was a nice man. Ran a family owned restaurant in central Rome and the most important was the fact that the children liked him and that he was nice to them which is what Fabrizio was most concerned about.

"So what is the reason for your visit Fabri? Because I don't think it was lunch."

Fabrizio chuckled softly and nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.

"You're right. Well I was speaking with Anita and Libero and the children would like to go on holiday and I wanted to take them to London. We'd be going in two weeks and I just wanted to make sure that you are alright with it."

Giada smiled softly at him and nodded.

"Of course I'm alright with it. Why wouldn't I be? But thank you for thinking to ask me first. I bet they are excited?"

"Oh yes. Turns out that Ermal's concert will be in London that week as well so he's going to join us for some sightseeing. Though don't tell the children that. I want it to be a surprise."

"Of course."

They stayed at Giada's for a few more hours, just talking, spending a lazy afternoon. However soon they had to go home as it was coming close to dinner time and Fabrizio's brother and sister said they would come over so Fabrizio had to go and cook. They said goodbye to their mother and left, making their way, Anita excitedly talking about a drawing she was going to make for Mateo and Giada.

As soon as they arrived home, Fabrizio started cooking and over an hour later he and the children as well as his brother and sister were sitting around the dinner table, enjoying their meal. Once again, the conversation was hijacked by Anita and Libero who were excitedly talking about their upcoming trip to London and what they were both looking forward to seeing. After dinner, the children wanted some ice cream but unfortunately they didn't have any in the house so Filippo offered to take the children to the shop and buy some. In the time that they were gone, Fabrizio and Romnia cleaned up after dinner. When they were done, they sat outside smoking. They sat in silence until Romina sighed and looked at her brother.

"Alright. Who is he?"

"Who is who?"

"The guy you are clearly pining over."

Fabrizio looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow, trying to act like he had no idea what she was talking about. Even though it was pointless. His sister was always good at reading him like an open book. He was always amazed by that. No matter how well he thought he was hiding his feelings, Romina always knew. Realising there was no way he could lie to her, he sighed.

"Ermal."

"Meta?"

"You know any other curly haired Albanian men in my life called Ermal?"

Romina only shrugged as she watched her brother. They sat in silence like that for a while before Fabrizio sighed and sat up properly in his chair.

"Come on then. Say something!"

"What do you want me to tell you? To tell you to go for it? Or to tell you not to do anything stupid? I know you Fab. And no matter what I say you will either not do anything about it or do the exact opposite."

"Then why ask?"

"Well shoot me. I'm curious. But seriously, do you plan on telling him?"

"I don't know."

Fabrizio sighed and his sister nodded in understanding. He didn't have to say anything. She understood. She had met Ermal a few times before however most of them had been in passing. Though he was a nice man, she didn't know anything about his personal life. Not enough to even try and comfort her brother and tell him he may stand a chance. Or not.

"I don't want to ruin our friendship but I also don't know how to tell if he is even interested in men."

"You could always suggest going to some good club when you're in London, tell him someone recommended it to you, and take him to a gay club and see how he reacts."

Fabrizio could tell that she wasn't being 100% serious when she said that but he still couldn't help and roll his eyes.

"Really? As if the fact I want to go to a club wasn't suspicious to begin with. I don't know. I'll just see what happens."

He took a sip of his wine as he watched the setting sun, his mind occupied by a certain curly haired man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if this is a bit sucky.   
> turned out I had things to do xD   
> though this chapter is here.   
> chapter 7 won't probably be up until thursday as I'm spending the day in Oxford tomorrow
> 
> thank you for reading and as always, let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ermal royally fucks up but Fabrizio doesn't seem to mind.

Ermal found himself in the same situation that Fabrizio was the other day. He completely forgotten that Andrea was coming to stay with him for the duration of rehearsals for the European tour. Which started tomorrow. Which meant that Andrea was coming tonight. Correction, Andrea was already outside Ermal's apartment. Whilst Ermal was on the other side of Milan. After the quick call with Andrea, which was pretty much Ermal saying 'fuck sorry' over and over again, he said a quick goodbye to his mother and brother and quickly left. He was in the taxi back to his house now and checking his phone, he realised that Fabrizio still hasn't replied to his texts. He felt like pouting and probably would have done so was he not in the back of the taxi. Why didn't he reply to him? Did Ermal do or say something wrong? No. All he did was ask about London. Maybe Fabrizio wasn't able to go to London after all and was upset? Maybe Ermal had upset him somehow? As they neared his apartment, he paid for the journey and made his way inside his building, shoving the thoughts about Fabrizio aside.

Andrea was sitting on the steps outside the building, since there was no one to buzz him in. Seeing Ermal get out of his taxi he stood up and playfully rolled his eyes.

"What time do you call this Meta?"

"Sorry. I was with my mother."

"Hey it's alright. I'm only joking."

He followed Ermal inside and it wasn't too long until the two of them were ordering Chinese takeaway because of course all Ermal had in his house was just a bag of spaghetti, some canned beans and way too much coffee. Andrea had brought some wine so the two men sat on the sofa, enjoying the alcohol and talking about the upcoming tour.

"I'm thinking of adding some old songs we rarely play to the set list. Since you know we've never played those songs there."

"But we did that mini European tour last year."

"Yeah I know but those venues are bigger and there will be more people. It'll be nice."

Andrea nodded in agreement. He wasn't too fussed what they played. He knew all the songs anyway so Ermal could change the set list every night and he'd be fine with it.

"And I was also thinking of doing a cover at each show. A cover of a famous song from that country. So it would mean that we'll have to learn some new songs but I'll go for the most popular ones that everyone knows."

"Does that mean you're going to play 'What is Love' in Germany?"

"Haddaway's not German is he?"

"I think he might be."

Andrea shrugged slightly and once he finished his glass of wine, he reached for his bag and pulled out a bottle of beer. Ermal looked at him and smirked with a raised eyebrow.

"Should you be mixing alcohol at your age Vigentini?"

"I'm younger than you, you dick."

Ermal laughed softly and turned his attention back to his phone, reading through Haddaway's wikipedia page.

"And?"

"Well he moved to Germany and his bio does say 'Trinidadian-born, German singer' so I suppose we can play 'What is Love'."

Andrea chuckled, knowing Ermal really liked the song, seeing that the curly haired man had finished his wine as well, he reached for his bag once again and threw a bottle of beer at Ermal.

"Come on. We might as well have some fun before work begins again."

Ermal shrugged in reply and opened the bottle taking a sip. It wouldn't hurt him if he had a bottle of beer as well. It was only one, but _oh how wrong was he_. By the time their takeaway came, both men had drank two bottles of beer each and mixed with the previous glass of wine and an empty stomach, meant that both were feeling the effects of the alcohol.

As they enjoyed their food, for some reason deciding to just sit on the living room floor rather than the perfectly usable table, Ermal told Andrea about Fabrizio and his children going to London and being there the same time as the concert. Well hopefully as he still got no reply from Fabrizio.

"Well if you and Fabrizio want to go somewhere I'm sure that me, Marco and Dino would be able to look after the kids."

This made Ermal raise an eyebrow.

"Why would you assume that me and Fabri would like to go somewhere alone?"

"Because you have feelings for him?"

Andrea's reply came as more of a question. Ermal stopped. Was he really that obvious? But how would Andrea know? He only realised this himself a day ago.

"How do you-?"

"You told me in Lisbon."

"I-what?"

Ermal literally had no memory of a conversation where he spoke about Fabrizio like that ever taking place. Other than interviewers asking them if they were more than friends but not Andrea.

"The night of the final Ermal. We were back at the hotel bar drinking and you pulled me to the side and told me that you might have feelings for Fabrizio and asked me whether you should act on them. To which I said 'do what you feel is right' and then you disappeared for like an hour. Jesus, how drunk were you? Do you not remember that at all?"

Ermal shook his head, taking another  spring roll from the take away container, opening a third bottle of beer because apparently Andrea's bag was a bottomless pit of beers. Not that he was complaining at the moment.

"Even Marco came up to me saying you literally stormed past him mutter something about Fabrizio and 'him looking like that'. Honestly, do you not remember?"

Ermal thought back to the night of the Eurovision final. He already had several glasses of wine during the results and they had several more drinks on the bus back to the hotel and then at the hotel. He honestly didn't remember anything past them arriving at the hotel and him and Euguent making their way over to the bar.

"Did I speak with Fabrizio after that?"

He was worried that he might have said something to his friend, who maybe remembered it. Oh god. Was that the reason that Fabrizio wasn't replying to his texts? Did he remember what Ermal had said to him?

"No. Turned out that Fabrizio had gone to bed at that point. So you disappeared for an hour somewhere and then came. So do you or do you not have feelings for him?"

"I do but....it's complicated?"

"Well you either want to bone him or not."

Ermal threw his hands up in the air and threw a pillow at Andrea.

"What a romantic way to put it Andrea. Now I understand why all the ladies fall at your feet. Honestly though, I don't know. I thought I only realised those feelings the other day. Or maybe I just let myself admit that I had those feelings. I don't want to ruin our friendship though!"

Ermal finished that bottle of beer that he had and decided it was time for something stronger. If that was a conversation they were having. He got up from the floor, slightly wobbly, and walked towards his fridge and pulled out a bottle of plum Rakia, a fruit type of brandy famous in the Balkans. He got this bottle from Albania when he was there last to play a concert in Tirana. Andrea looked at his friend but didn't say anything, only picked up his empty wine glass for Ermal to pour him some of the alcohol.

"So if you don't want to ruin your friendship, which is understandable, what are you going to do then?"

Ermal took a sip of the alcohol and laid down on the floor, sighing.

"Die alone."

Andrea snorted, but seeing that his friend didn't laughed he moved closer to him.

"Look, I really don't envy the situation you're in but are you 100% that Fabrizio isn't even a tiny bit interested in men? I mean, he doesn't shy away when you two hug for longer than necessary or doesn't mind those constant cheek kisses etc. I'm not saying that he's not straight but I wouldn't rule it out."

"Oh come on Andrea. Don't get my hopes you. You know that's just how he is."

Andrea didn't respond. _Just the way he was,_ my ass he thought. Sure Fabrizio was an open man, always greeting people he knew with hugs but not like he did with Ermal. There was definitely something more there of that Andrea was sure but by now the alcohol was taking over and it was time to put on a playlist with all those cheesy 2000s songs and soon enough him and Ermal were laying on the living room floor, the now nearly empty bottle of Rakia beside them and they were both screaming the lyrics to Britney Spears' 'Toxic'.

Once the song ended, Ermal looked at the clock and realised that it was nearly 2am. Oh tomorrow would be **_fun._** He was happy that he prepared the guest room for Andrea yesterday. The two men said their goodnights, both too intoxicated to care to clean up, and went into their rooms. Alone in his bedroom Ermal began undressing. He stood in his room in just his boxers looking around for his clothes when he caught his reflection in the mirror. A brilliant idea crossed his mind. Well his, drunk mind. He quickly took a photo and opened up Whatsapp before quickly closing it. No. Even in his drunk state he wasn't stupid enough to send that photo to Fabrizio.

Deciding that he couldn't be bothered to find his clothes, he turned the lights off and climbed into his bed. He checked his phone once again. Still no messages from Fabrizio. He decided to text him again, Fabrizio would surely be asleep by now but hopefully he'd see the text in the morning.

**_To: Bizio_ **

**_Is everything alright? I'm guessing you're busy but I just wanted to check. Miss you and can't wait for London._ **

He sent that message, his drunk mind decided that he was going to be all touchy feeling. Saying he missed his friend was normal. He also decided to send Fabrizio a photo of a meme of him that he saw on Twitter earlier that day. Soon after sending the photo and the message, Ermal fell asleep in seconds.

 

The next morning Fabrizio was woken up by Anita saying she was hungry and that she didn't want Libero to make her breakfast, which would have either been a sandwich or cereal, and that she wanted scrambled eggs. Fabrizio murmured something in his half asleep state.

"Of course amore. Just let papa wake up properly okay?"

Anita nodded and ran back downstairs where she continued watching TV with Libero. Fabrizio sighed. Well he had no choice but to wake up now. He stretched in bed and reached for his phone and saw that he had a message from Ermal. _Fuck._ He forgot to reply to his text messages last night. He unlocked his phone and opened up the message from Ermal and it was as if all the air had been knocked out of him. Why had Ermal sent him that photo? He couldn't help the blush that appeared on his face and he couldn't take his eyes away from the photo. All that he could think about was how good Ermal looked and why had he sent him a photo wearing nothing but his boxers. Did that mean something? And the message. _I miss you._ Fabrizio was confused. On the one hand he was happy that maybe Ermal had feelings for him but on the other hand he didn't want to get his hopes up. What if he had planned on sending Fabrizio another photo and this was a mistake. But why did he even take such photos? Probably to send to some girl. That must have been it.

**_To: Ermal_ **

**_Sorry for not replying yesterday. Romina and Filippo came over for dinner and I just forgot. My bad. Yes, we are going to London that week. So we'll see you there! I haven't the kids that yet. I want them seeing you in London to be a surprise._ **

He sent that message and thought for a moment. Should he say anything about the photo? If Ermal sent it to him on purpose then he might think Fabrizio wasn't interested, which he obviously was. But if it was a mistake, then he didn't want to make things uncomfortable. After an internal battle, and Anita calling him from downstairs, he decided to ask about the photo.

**_To: Ermal_ **

**_What's with the photo? Are you showing off you gym results ;)_ **

That was playful enough. Or was the winky face too much. Well it was too late. He already hit send. Getting out of bed, he got dressed and make his way downstairs to make breakfast for his daughter, his mind however, racing with thoughts of Ermal and what that photo could have meant.

 

Ermal was woken up by loud banging and the sounds of doors slamming and Andrea shouting 'fuck' and then Marco shouting something. Which Ermal didn't really pay attention to. He was hungover as fuck. The door to his room swung open to reveal a pissed off Marco, followed by Andrea who he noticed didn't look any better than Ermal did.

"Literally what the fuck you two? Why aren't you answering your phones? You were supposed to have been at the studio at 8am!"

Ermal groaned and tried to sit up, big mistake. The room around him began spinning and he laid back down, staring at the ceiling.

"And what time is it now?"

"Nearly noon. What the fuck you two?"

Ermal sat up right in bed, trying his best to ignore the spinning. Noon? Shit! He imagined they overslept an hour maybe. No wonder Marco was pissed.

"You're lucky the studio space wasn't booked for the afternoon. Me and Dino re-booked it from two. And both of you are in for a talking from Paolo. He's pissed."

Marco looked at Ermal, who honestly looked like he was about to hurl and rolled his eyes.

"Get dressed. Or go to the bathroom if you're gonna hurl. I'll make you two coffee."

He walked through the living room into the kitchen and began making coffee. Andrea looked at Ermal with a smirk on his face and was about to say something when they heard Marco's voice from the living room.

"Honestly! Did you two drink half of a liquor store? No wonder you're so hungover."

Ermal sighed and Andrea laughed, before clutching his head. It was good to see that he was suffering as well. Andrea went to the guest room to get dressed and Ermal sat on the edge of the bed and picked up his phone. He saw that he had a text from Fabrizio. Unlocking his phone he clicked on the message and read it. Photo? What photo? Scrolling up he saw the photo that he had sent to Fabrizio.

"Cazzo."

He had sent Fabrizio a photo of himself in his boxers. When the fuck did he even take it? Oh fuck, he was never drinking again. He read Fabrizio's reply to it. He didn't seem angry or disgusted? He even added a winky face. Clearly that didn't mean anything right?

"What happened to you?"

He looked up and saw Andrea standing in his doorway with a concerned look on his face. He sighed and show him the photo and message he had sent to Fabrizio last night. Andrea took one look at it and burst out laughing, which didn't last as once again he clutched his head.

"When I said maybe you should find out whether he's straight or not, I didn't mean send him nudes!"

"Ermal's sending nudes? To who?"

Marco had appeared behind Andrea with two cups of coffee which he passed to them. Andrea looked at Ermal, who only shrugged. He could tell Marco.   

"Moro."

"Fabrizio?"

"You know any other Moro? And it wasn't a nude. It was a photo of me in nothing but my boxers."

"So soft core porn. Cool."

Ermal rolled his eyes. He knew that they weren't going to let him forget it easily.

"Did he say anything?"

Andrea, who was still holding Ermal's phone, showed Marco the messages.

"Well that's a good reply, right?"

Ermal only sighed and downed his coffee in one go, _big mistake,_ and made his way to the bathroom to have a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I lied. I overslept so I will be going to Oxford tomorrow. So here's chapter 7!  
> Hope you liked it. I'm sure that Ermal wants to do nothing more than to just crawl into a ditch and stay there.  
> Thank you for all your comments so far! I'm glad that you are enjoying this!   
> also once again, sorry not sorry for the slow burn. But we're going somewhere now!
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a little interesting and Ermal realises he has 4 days to come up with some solid idea for a song as well as a melody.

Once managing to stomach some food and managing to face the sunlight, Ermal had finally made it to the studio. As soon as he walked inside he was greeted by an impatient Paolo. Behind him he could hear Andrea sigh.

"Please save it Paolo. We're already greatly suffering."

Paolo took one good look at Ermal and Andrea and rolled his eyes, putting his phone into his pocket. They did look like death so he guessed he might spare them the lecture. Though it was more due to the fact that they could start the rehearsal sooner.

"Fine. Looks like you too are suffering enough as it is."

Ermal could see that he was trying to hide his smirk. He was happy that he didn't have to suffer through another lecture from Paolo. Which usually happened. Mainly when Ermal went on rants on Twitter and said something he didn't have to. Though it wasn't his fault. He had every single right to say when something bothered him or when he didn't like what some people were saying about him. Any other person would do that so why should it mean that Ermal wasn't allowed to just because he was a famous singer? His fans understood him and most of them had his back in cases like this. Ermal took out his phone and went through a list of the songs that he wanted to practice, where they would play a famous song from each country.

"You're still missing one for London."

"Yeah, I'm not sure what I want to sing."

"You should sing ' _I want to hold your hand'_ by The Beatles and dedicate it to Moro."

Paolo looked up from his laptop screen, where he was busy organising interviews for the different countries as well as other queries about the tour.

"What, Fabrizio?"

"Yeah. He's going to be in London the week of Ermal's concert."

"You should get him to join you for ' _Non mi avete fatto niente'."_

Ermal immediately shook his head. Whilst he knew that Fabrizio would agree to that he knew that the man was going to be on holiday with his children. Where he most likely would just want to spend time with them and Ermal didn't want to intrude on that.

"He's on holiday with his children and by God does he deserve to spend some quality time with them without something coming up."

"So you didn't want to ask him?"

"It's literally what I just said."

"Well I sent a text to his manager to organise this."

Ermal groaned. Great, now he'd have to call Fabrizio and apologise and hope he manages to get through to his friend before his manager does. However, he had no time for that as their time in the studio was limited and they wanted to run over some of the songs again.

3 hours later, Ermal was dropped off at his flat by Marco. Andrea was going out with Marco and Dino and they had invited Ermal but he just wanted to sleep off the rest of the hangover, and well call Fabrizio. He remembered that he never replied to his text either. Fabrizio was probably freaking out that he said something wrong and he felt guilty for that. He had given Andrea his spare key so that even if he fell asleep his friend could still get into his flat. Once he got inside he took a quick shower and made himself a cup of tea. Sitting on the sofa in complete silence he sighed. He needed to go and do some food shopping. Especially now that he would be home for a few weeks. He thought about just eating out or ordering take away everything but quickly shoved those thoughts aside. _'You're a grown ass man, Meta,'_ he told himself. He'd go shopping later. First he needed to speak with Fabrizio.

Picking up his phone from the table, he clicked on FaceTime. Of course Fabrizio was the last person he called. Clicking on his name, he waited for several seconds. Just when he thought Fabrizio wouldn't pick up, his friends face appeared on the screen and Ermal was glad that his camera was pointed at his ceiling. Fabrizio was clearly in bed, shirtless, with his glasses on. He was clearly reading a book, that Ermal could see on the side and honestly the sight on his phone screen left him breathless.

"Ermal? Are you there?"

The younger man quickly moved his phone so he was on camera and smiled at his friend.

"Oh hi Bizio. I didn't think you were going to pick up in the end."

"Yeah sorry. I left my phone in the bathroom."

Ermal chuckled softly. It was good to see and speak with Fabrizio again. Though he couldn't help but notice how his heart would skip a beat when the older man smiled at him.

"You know if you wanted me to perform with you at your London show you could have just asked me. No need to contact my manager."

Ermal groaned. He wanted Fabri to hear about it from him first and apologise for it. Say that it was Paolo's idea. Which it was. Curse Paolo and his ability to type really fast. Though that ability did impress Ermal. He wasn't going to lie.

"Sorry about that Fabri. I didn't suggest it. I just mentioned that you were in London and Paolo assumed that you'd perform with me. I know you're going to be on holiday and with Anita and Libero. I don't want to take any time away from your trip."

"Ermal, calm down. It's alright. I can come and sing with you. That is if you'd like to. I'm sure Anita and Libero won't mind going to Zio Ermal's concert in London. You know they love watching you perform."

Ermal couldn't help but grin. He didn't know whether it was because Fabri said that the kids loved watching him perform or because Fabri was being all cute and trying to pout. Nevertheless, Ermal couldn't stop staring at a shirtless Fabrizio. His friend couldn't tell he was staring at his shirtless chest through the phone screen could he?

"Well if you're sure. Don't feel like you have to thought. Anyway, I also wanted to apologise for the photo. I didn't mean to send that one to you."

Fabrizio laughed as he moved to get more comfortable in bed and Ermal was disappointed to have to temporarily stare into the darkness as his friend put his phone down. However, soon enough he was once again looking at Fabrizio who was laying down in bed, his phone up in the air and god dammit, did Fabrizio really have to go for that angle? He could see just to the waistband of his boxer and Ermal could feel that this sight was doing things to him.

"Hey! Is that a new tattoo on your chest?"

Smooth. Nice and quick way to change the topic Meta.

"Yeah. Romina did it earlier today. Do you like it?"

"Well it looks nice on you."

He thought that he saw Fabrizio blush as he mumbled a thank you before proceeding to turn the conversation back to that photo. Couldn't he just let it go? It was embaressing for Ermal, even though he would have liked to have received one in return. Though, this camera angle could be classed as that. Fabrizio was indeed shirtless and the angle was good though if maybe the camera reached a little lower...

"Earth to Ermal! Are you listening?"

"What? Sorry I zoned out a little."

He needed to stop thinking about Fabrizio in such a way. He already felt his trousers getting somewhat uncomfortably tight. God that was so embarrassing. He was getting a hard on, just talking to his friend via FaceTime. No matter how hot his friend was this shouldn't be happening.

"What I was saying was that it's alright. Happens to the best of us. Though how much did you drink last night? I got a text from Marco asking if I knew were you were and then later another one saying that never mind you were just hungover. Did you miss rehearsal?"

"Yeah. Me and Andrea might have had a little too much to drink last night. We had the studio for 8 but me and Andrea weren't woken up by Marco until just before midday."

Fabrizio laughed and god did that laugh make Ermal's heart skip a beat. He and Fabrizio kept talking for another half an hour. Turned out that he was home alone because the kids were at Giada's for the night as her parents were visiting her. Fabrizio spent most of the day in the studio, came up with a new melody, which he played for Ermal. They only ended the conversation because Ermal's stomach was making such loud noises that even Fabrizio could hear it. They said their goodbyes and Ermal decided that he had no choice but to go and get dressed and go to the shop to buy some food.

Getting off the sofa he made his way to the bathroom, realising that his trousers still felt a bit tight and he couldn't help but roll his eyes. He was not taking care of this problem. For fuck's sake, he wasn't going to be jerking off to the thoughts of his friend. Because once again, he had to remind himself, that's all him and Fabrizio were. F R I E N D S. Taking off his clothes he made his way towards the bathroom and decided to take a quick, cold shower. That would fix the problem. However his mind could only focus on Fabrizio. The way he looked with his glasses on and his shirt off. That new tattoo looking amazing. In interviews he said that they scared him but in all honesty he loved them. He loved the way the tattoo's looked on him. They suited him. Once he was done in the shower he went into his bedroom and threw on a pair of jogging bottoms and a random t-shirt. He was only going to the shop not a runway. Picking up his phone and wallet, he made his way downstairs to the buildings garage and climbed into his car before making his way to the store.

There wasn't much traffic so it didn't take him long to get into the store. Before getting out the car he put on a baseball cap and sunglasses. Hopefully if people recognised him, they would get the idea that he didn't want to be disturbed. Not that he didn't like stopping for his fans, he loved them and enjoyed talking with them but he was still hung over and his mind was somewhere else. 15 minutes later he was nearly done with his shopping with no one disturbing when a group of teenage girls approached him.

"Ermal can we take a photo?"

Internally he sighed, was saying 'hello' first that hard? However he smiled and nodded, the sooner he took those photos the sooner he could be left alone to suffer through his hangover.

"Would you mind taking your sungalsses off for the photo?"

"Oh trust me. You don't want to see what's under them."

He joked and took a few more selfies with the fans before they left him alone. He quickly finished off his shopping and made his way to his car, and made his way home. Once he was inside he put everything away and started cooking when the door opened and Andrea came in, followed by Marco.

"Oh you're cooking? Great! We're starving."

"You could have called with a warning. You're lucky I just came back from the shop. Though it'll take a while, I just started."

Marco and Andrea said that it was fine and they both made themselves comfortable on the sofa, the three of them just chatting.

"So...did Fabrizio say anything else about the photo?"

"Not really. I face called him on FaceTime and we had a short chat. He thought the photo was hilarious. Played me a bit of a new melody he wrote about."

Marco and Andrea just sat there smirking at each other as they listened to Ermal. Once he was done he just looked at his friends confused.

"What is it?"

"God. It's so obvious that you have feelings for him. Honestly, how he hasn't caught on it yet is beyond me. It's not as if you're even trying to hide it!"

"Because I am with you two? Who know I have feelings for him..."

"Actually I didn't. I just knew you were sending him some soft core porn that's about it."

Marco looked at Ermal with an amused look on his face. He was only teasing though. He knew that Ermal had feelings for Fabrizio. There were times when Ermal couldn't even hide it. Though maybe by that time Ermal didn't even know himself?

"Oh for fucks sake."

"I'm only kidding. You're very obvious at times. I swear even your fans can tell that. I mean they can. Though, do you plan on doing anything about it? Andrea said that we may have to look after Anita and Libero if you and Fabrizio go out alone. So do you plan on doing something in London?"

Ermal was silent for a moment. He stood leaning against his kitchen counter. He could. It could be risky but he could do something. Though he had to make a few phone calls first. Or pay Fabrizio another visit and test a few things out. Yes. He would do just that. He checked his calendar before placing Marco in charge of the rice and excusing himself to go make a phone call.

Alone in his room, he picked up his phone and called Fabrizio. The phone was picked up almost immediately and Ermal could hear a faint _'cazzo'_ from the other side.

 

"Are you alright Bizio?"

On the other side, Fabrizio closed his eyes and tried not to groan. Why did Ermal have to call him now? Out of all the fucking moments in the day why did he have to call him now when Fabrizio was a little preoccupied. He was going to send Ermal a screenshot of a fans art work of them that he saw on twitter but when he opened up Whatsapp he saw the photo that Ermal had sent him. Well, now that he was alone and the children were out of the house he could take a better look at it. He paid close attention to Ermal's chest, noticing how well toned he was, how amazing that tan looked on him and how good he looked in nothing but his boxers. And God, if Fabrizio was there and things were different, he would have made sure that those boxers were on that floor with the rest of Ermal's clothes. One thought lead to another and soon Fabrizio realized just how hard he was.

Well it wouldn't hurt if he took care of that problem now was it? Moving his hand into his boxers, he kept staring at the photo of Ermal as he started moving his hand up and down slowly, trying to imagine the things that the two of them could get up. How it would feel to have Ermal naked, underneath him, kissing all over his chest and leaving marks on his neck so people knew that he belong to Fabrizio. He started moving his hand faster, soft moans escaping his lips as he thought about how Ermal would sound as he moaned his name. He closed his eyes, feeling that he was close, all those thoughts turning him on so much. He moaned Ermal's name when he felt his phone vibrate. Which brings us to now. Why did he answer the fucking phone?!

"Umm....yeah I'm fine?"

"Are you sure? You sound a little out of breath."

_Fuck._ 'Oh yeah sorry about that. I was too busy masturbating to the photo you sent me.' He needed to think of something and quick before it became suspicious.

"I've....I've been doing some breathing exercises. Yeah."

"Ooookay?"

Ermal didn't sound convinced and Fabrizio began panicking a little bit. Well if this situation wasn't a boner killer he didn't know what was. Think fast Moro.

"Yeah...just...Giada called and said that Libero had fallen down the stairs and got a nosebleed and my anxiety got the best of me so I've been doing some breathing exercises that I've looked up online to help me calm down."

A good enough excuse. Kids fall downstairs. It was a plausible excuse and Ermal knew about his hypochondria and anxiety. Thankfully it seemed that his friend believed him.

"Oh shit! Is he alright?"

"Yeah he's fine. Giada just wanted to call and tell me so I wouldn't have to find out from the kids but you know how I can get. Thinking of the worst. Anyway, is something wrong?"

"No...no....I'm just calling to see if it would be possible for me to visit this weekend? I have nothing planned and I just thought well I might come down. Plus I have a possible song idea for my new album and I was wondering if maybe you wanted to duet again? I think it would work nicely with your voice. So we could work on that?"

"Yeah that sounds great! Oh Anita will be happy to hear that you'll be coming to visit. We'll probably pick you up at the airport...not probably, most likely. She'll probably make me get there hours before you even board your plane. You'll be getting a plane right?"

"Umm...I haven't checked yet. Probably. I don't really fancy taking a train. It takes too long."

"Great. Well let me know when you book your tickets and send me the times yeah?"

"Yeah. Thanks for letting me come visit Fabri. I will see you Friday night?"

"See you then. Enjoy rehearsals!"

When they ended the call, Ermal sat on the edge of his bed and closed his eyes.  Well he now needed to buy flights to Rome for Friday night as well come up with a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so here we are  
> chapter 8. I know the start sucks a little, but I tried to make up for that by spicing things up a little bit  
> I honestly haven't written smut in forever so don't worry, there will be some in the future chapters (or will there?) but I just need to work up to it a bit, or practice writing it xD 
> 
> i hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As always Anita makes Ermal's heart melt and Fabrizio cannot forget Monday night.

The next four days were a nightmare for Ermal. Not that anything was wrong but it seemed that the time until Friday just dragged and dragged. Not to mention his band and Paolo constantly teasing him about Fabrizio because of course all of them knew now. Obviously he didn't mind the teasing, it was obvious they were only joking and when he left rehearsals on  Friday all of them had wished him good luck.

"It's not like I'm going to confess my love for him for Christ's sake."

"You also weren't going to send him nudes yet here we are."

Ermal rolled his eyes and threw his jacket at Dino. And of course everyone knew about that too. He quickly packed up his stuff and he and Marco made their way outside. Marco was going to take him to the airport, his suitcase in Marco's car boot since the morning. He put his guitar into the back seat and climbed into the passenger seat.

"So once again, why are you going to Fabrizio's for this weekend?"

"Because I want to test a few things out."

Marco raised an eyebrow as he started the car engine, looking at Ermal.

"Why do you sound so sinister when you say that?"

"I don't mean anything bad! I mean, test the waters, try to flirt with Fabrizio and see how he reacts."

"So you're going to go for it instead of pinning?"

"I said I'm going to see. As mentioned before, I will not be confessing my love for him."

"Whatever you say Meta. But the lyrics that you've been working on are quite obvious."

Ermal only shrugged in reply. He had to work on some lyrics obviously. Especially after telling Fabrizio that. He didn't think his lyrics would be that obvious. Maybe Marco only said that because he knows Ermal has feelings for Fabrizio. At one point when they were rehearsing the entire set list, Ermal changed the lyrics from 'ragazza paradiso' to 'ragazzo paradiso' and he did it without even thinking and nobody has let him forget that. Not that he minded. Every time he played that song recently all he could think of was Fabrizio. At the airport he and Marco said they goodbye's and grabbing his bag and guitar case, Ermal made his way inside. Soon he would see Fabrizio and he couldn't be more excited.

 

"Anita calm down, please. Ermal won't even be on his plane yet!"

Fabrizio had told Anita and Libero that Ermal would be coming to visit this weekend and the children couldn't be more excited. Especially Anita. Who wouldn't stop asking when they were leaving throughout the whole on Friday. Fabrizio didn't mind, he was busy cleaning the house and this time preparing the guest room. Libero on the other hand wasn't so lucky.

"But maybe we should tell papa that we need to leave now? What if there is traffic? What if the car breaks down. We can't let zio Ermal wait for us!"

For the most part Libero was patient with his sister but even his patience had its limits and he had now reached that limit.

"Shut up Anita! His plane won't even take off for another two hours!"

He regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. He didn't mean to snap at his sister. He really didn't. But he was trying to read a book and she wouldn't stop saying that they should leave now. He knew that this wasn't something that he could say sorry for and Anita would forget about it immediately. He knew it as soon as he saw the tears well up in her eyes.

"I'm telling papa you said that!"

With that, his sister ran out of his room. Libero sighed and got up from the bed following his sister downstairs where she ran to find her father. As he approached his father's studio, he could hear his sister talking through her tears.

"And then he told me a bad word!"

"What bad word? You can tell me this time and I won't be angry at you."

Anita looked up at her papa and Fabrizio's heart broke seeing her cry. He knew it probably wasn't anything serious but she was his daughter and he hated seeing her cry.

"He told me to shut up!"

Okay so it wasn't _that_ bad. Fabrizio imagined something worse. Though it didn't mean that Libero should have said that to his sister. Or to be telling anyone to shut up. There are more polite ways to tell someone to stop talking and Fabrizio knew that his son knew better than that. He was about to call his son when the boy walked into the room.

"I'm sorry papa! I didn't mean to say that to Anita. But she just won't stop talking about zio Ermal and saying that we should leave now even though I kept telling her that he's not even on the plane yet!"

Fabrizio listened to his son. The most important thing for him, when his children argued, was to hear both sides of the story and let his children know that. There was no point in shouting at anyone without knowing exactly what happened.

"Have you apologised to your sister?"

"No because she ran to find you right away."

"Well apologise to your sister and then you and me will talk."

Libero nodded and walked closer to them and hugged his sister.

"I'm sorry Anita."

The little girl hugged her brother and smiled. She couldn't stay angry at him. He was her brother after all and he had apologised.

"It's okay."

"Now go to your room and play Anita, I will have a talk with Libero."

"Please don't shout at him papa. He apologised."

"Of course I'm not going to shout at him tesoro. We're just going to talk."

Anita nodded and ran out of the studio and to her room. Fabrizio motioned for Libero to sit beside him and he wrapped his arm around his son. He wasn't angry at his son. It's not like he did something terribly wrong and he wanted his son to know that he wasn't angry.

"I'm sorry papa."

"It's alright Libero. I understand, I used to be like that too when I was younger but you need to remember that you can't shout at your sister like that and especially not use words like that. You know that there are nicer ways to ask someone to stop talking or be quiet. It's rude to tell someone to shut up."

"I know papa. I didn't mean to. I've been trying to read my book but every five minutes Anita keeps saying that we should go to the airport and it's a little annoying. And I've asked her to stop before."

"I know amore, I know. But you know that you should have come to me and I would have spoken to her, right?"

"I know papa. Can I bring my book and read here? I promise I will be quiet."

Fabrizio chuckled softly and kissed the top of his head.

"Of course you can. As long as you don't mind me working on a new song."

2 hours later, the Mobrici family began getting ready to go to the airport to pick Ermal up. Anita had spent that time working on a welcome home card for Ermal. She had written welcome home on it in Albanian. Even though Libero told her that a simple welcome would be enough. _'No Libero. I want zio to know this is his house too and he is always welcome here.'_  She asked Fabrizio to look up the translation and with Libero's help she wrote _'Miresevjen ne shtepi'_ on the card as well as a drawing of Ermal in front of their house. Fabrizio couldn't help but smile as he watched his children working on the card. Once in the car, Fabrizio had to convince Anita that no the card did not need to have a seatbelt, they set off towards the airport. They had managed to arrive with plenty of time to spare so they sat at the cafe, Fabrizio drinking coffee and the children some juice and a piece of cake each. When the screen showed that Ermal's plane had landed, Libero was on duty of watching the arrivals screen, Anita practically dragged her father and brother to the arrivals exit to wait for Ermal. Even though Fabrizio tried to tell her that it would be a while before Ermal came out. However that did not stop his daughter.

They waited 15 minutes, until at last, Anita spotted Ermal and began calling for him, waving her card.

"Zio Ermal! Zio Ermal! We're here!"

Fabrizio found this amusing but also realised that everyone in the arrivals terminal knew that Ermal Meta was here because honestly how many people with curly hair were called Ermal? However no one came up to them asking for photos and Fabrizio was glad for that. He didn't mind stopping for fans but he was with Anita and Libero and there was a lot people around so he would have rather kept his eyes on his children.

Anita ran up to Ermal and threw herself at him. Talking excitedly and waving the card in front of his face. Ermal, who had crouched down to be the same height as the girl, smiled as he took the card from her and saw what was written on it. He was glad that he was wearing sunglasses because that definitely brought a tear to his eye. The fact that the card read 'welcome home' would have been enough to make him tear up but the fact they looked up how to write it in Albanian made it even more special. He knew that he would end up framing this card as soon as he got back home on Sunday night.

"Thank you so much piccola. It's really beautiful!"

Anita smiled proudly and finally let go of Ermal so he could stand up. He smiled at Libero and hugged him as well.

"How have you been Libero?"

"Good. Anita wouldn't stop asking about you the whole day. She even wanted to be here at midday!"

"Libero told me to shut up!"

"Anita!"

Ermal tried his hardest not to chuckle, he really did. The sight of Fabrizio trying to act all serious was also funny. Because Ermal knew that he wasn't really angry, he had seen Fabrizio angry before, but that he was clearly trying to put it on for the children.

"Sorry papa."

"It's alright. Just don't say it again."

Fabrizio turned to look at Ermal and smiled at him. Suddenly his mind decided to remind him of Monday night and he nearly groaned. Not now. He couldn't be thinking about this now. He hugged the younger man, as always a little longer than necessary but it didn't seem like Ermal wanted to let go at all. Or maybe Fabrizio was imagining it. Or maybe something had happened and Ermal didn't want to tell him over the phone but this was the reason behind his visit?

"I've missed you Bizio."

Fabrizio had half a mind to tell Ermal to stop being so damn adorable because he was 43 and possibly prone to heart attacks. He smiled softly at his friend.

"I've missed you too Ermal."

"I've missed you too zio!"

Anita had moved to Ermal's other side and was already holding his hand. Yeah, she wouldn't be letting go any time soon of that both Ermal and Fabrizio were sure. They started making their way to the car park, Fabrizio carrying Ermal's guitar case as Ermal currently had both hands pre-occupied. They talked a bit about how rehearsals were going, the excitement for the tour which was then hijacked by Anita excitedly saying, loud enough for the whole car park to hear, that they were in fact going to London and that she would meet the Queen.

On the way back home they had stopped at a local restaurant for dinner as Fabrizio didn't really cook anything and it was getting late and as soon as they got in Anita and Libero would have to go to bed. The meal was enjoyable albeit quick and it was nearly 22:00 by the time they got home. Fabrizio quickly made sure that Anita and Libero got ready for bed before making his way downstairs to join Ermal in his studio.

"Busy day?"

"Well I've been at the studio since 8 so yeah, you could say that."

"You can go to bed if you want to."

"No, no,  I'm fine."

Ermal was lounging on the mini couch in Fabrizio's studio, which resulted in Fabrizio opting to sit on the chair.

"Oh come on Fabri. There's plenty of room on the sofa!"

"No there isn't."

"I'll put my legs on your lap and it'll be fine."

Fabrizio chuckled but did just that. They sat in Fabrizio's studio, Ermal laying down, his legs over Fabrizio's until nearly 2am just talking about anything and everything. As always Fabrizio was surprised that even after spending so much time together, they never ran out of things to talk about. They probably would have continued to talk had it not been for Ermal's speech becoming slightly slurred due to him being tired however Fabrizio decided that it was most definitely time for bed when Ermal replied to his question about what should they do tomorrow, in Albanian.

"Alright. It's time for bed for you."

Ermal didn't argue though Fabrizio had to help him upstairs and to the guest bedroom as he was practically asleep. Fabrizio hated seeing the fact that Ermal probably got hardly any sleep but he also loved this moment as he had his arm around Ermal and holding him close, to make sure he didn't fall of course, as he helped him walk up the stairs. This wasn't the first time Fabrizio had seen Ermal this tired that he needed help walking up the stairs and getting to bed. However he was always more than happy to help his friend get into bed. _'He should get into my bed'_ Fabrizio rolled his eyes at his inner voice as he opened the door to the guest room and guided Ermal to the bed.

He was about to turn around and leave when he felt Ermal grabbed his wrist.

"Don't go Bizio."

He looked at Ermal and saw that the man was laying down on the bed, barely awake, however his grip on Fabrizio's wrist didn't loosen. He sat down on the edge of the bed. Maybe Ermal was having nightmares again? Maybe that's why he wanted to see Fabrizio? The last time that happened was in Lisbon, when some stupid journalist had asked Ermal about his father and began asking questions that were a bit too personal. _'What would you say if your father was here?' 'Would you ever forgive him?' 'What was the extent of his actions?'_ All of those questions were too personal for Fabrizio's and most certainly Ermal's, liking. However he answered them. His answers being short or saying that he'd rather not answer that. But there was one question the woman asked that made Fabrizio stand up, grab Ermal's hand and drag him away. _'What would you say if we told you that your father was here tonight?'_ Fabrizio remembered the way that Ermal froze and the panic that washed over his face. His father wasn't really there and it was a hypothetical question but it was enough to cause Ermal to suffer from nightmares for the next four days.

Thinking that maybe that was the case because why else would Ermal ask him to stay, he did what he knew helped his children when they had nightmares. He gently began stroking Ermal's hair. Soon he felt the grip on his wrist loosen and Ermal's breathing become steady. When he was sure that his friend was asleep he slowly got up from the bed and covered him with a blanket. He stopped for a moment and just watched Ermal to make sure that he was alright before he did something, which he didn't even process in his mind until he was back in his own bed. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss to Ermal's cheek and wished him a good night.

Back in bed he sighed and closed his eyes. Why has he done that? It wouldn't help keep his feelings at bay. What if Ermal was actually awake? What if he remembered it the next morning? Fabrizio sighed and stepped out onto his balcony to smoke a cigarette. He needed to think of a plan how to keep his feelings hidden this weekend so it wouldn't be obvious. Especially with his mind constantly drifting back to Monday night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter 9  
> Fabrizio is in so deep and I feel bad for making him suffer   
> The same applies to Ermal 
> 
> Enjoy and as always let me know what you think!
> 
> Also, I hope that is the right way to say 'welcome home' in Albanian. I googled it and 3 different websites said that but if it's wrong please let me know and I'll correct it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ermal has a dream ,an incident in the park and Fabrizio risk it all.

_Ermal could feel strong hands wrap around his waist and someone press against him from behind. He felt the hot breath on his neck and he titled his head to the side, giving the person the access to his neck which they almost immediately attacked with their lips, strong hands caressing his body, moving under his shirt, the sudden contact making Ermal shiver._

_"Bizio...."_

_He moaned the name, turning around and wrapping his arms around the older man's neck. He kissed him passionately, Fabrizio pushing him back until his body collided with a wall. He had nowhere to go. Not that he wanted to anyway. He looked into Fabrizio's eyes and saw the look of pure desire._

_"How about we get you out of this?"_

_Fabrizio murmured, his lips inches away from Ermal's as he tugged on his shirt. Ermal didn't need to be told twice, without hesitation he took his shirt off, throwing it somewhere across the room. Fabrizio stared at him and reached out to caress his body again, this time actually being able to look at him_

_" God, you look amazing. Fuck....Ermal....Ermal....._ "

"ERMAL!"

Ermal shot up in bed and looked around confused. What was going on? What was that dream? Why did he have that dream? Looking at the source of the sound he saw Fabrizio standing in the doorway with an amused look on his face. Oh god....he didn't make any sounds in real life did he?

"Sorry to wake you but Anita wouldn't stop asking to wake you up and you did promise her that we'll go to the park. Plus they refuse to have breakfast without you, saying we're going to have breakfast like a normal family."

It could have just been Ermal's imagination but he was sure that he saw Fabrizio blush slightly as he said that.

"Ah yes....it's alright. Thanks for waking me up. Tell her that I will be down soon. I'll just get changed."

"Did you have a nice dream?"

Ermal looked up to see Fabrizio smirking at him. Damn, so he did make some noise in real life. At that moment he just wanted the ground to swallow him. He wanted to disappear. Thankfully Fabrizio didn't know who Ermal was having a dream about. Otherwise it would have been even more awkward. Fabrizio left so Ermal could get changed. The younger man realised that he was still in his clothes from yesterday. Huh, he didn't even remember going to bed. All he remembered was sitting in Fabrizio's studio. Getting up from the bed, Ermal walked over to his suitcase and pulled out some clean clothes as well as his toiletries and made his way to the bathroom for a quick shower. A quick, cold shower. This was actually embarrassing. This is the second time now that he had to take a cold shower to get rid of a certain problem and both the times Fabrizio had been the cause of them. In the shower he allowed himself to think over the dream. To concentrate on how Fabrizio's hands felt on his body in the dream. He so desperately wanted to feel those hands on his body right now, in real life. To have Fabrizio push him again a wall and-no. He needs to stop. He needs to get his shit together. _'You're going downstairs to have breakfast with him and his kids Meta. Get your head out of the fucking gutter'._

Once he was finished in the bathroom, Ermal left his stuff in the guest bedroom and made his way downstairs. Turned out that it was much earlier than Ermal had anticipated. It was only 09:24 when he came to the kitchen. Anita squealing in delight and running to hug him.

"Did you sleep well piccola?"

"I did! Though papa wouldn't let me come in and wake you up sooner."

_'Thank god for that.'_ Ermal thought. The last thing he wanted was for Anita to run into the room and wake him up as he was having a sex dream about her father. Once again he mentally scolded himself for thinking about it. Now was not the bloody time.

"I'm sorry Anita. I was just really tired and needed to sleep a little longer than normal."

"It's okay. You can make up for it in the park by playing with me on the playground!"

Ermal laughed softly and agreed that he'd let Anita push him down a slide. If he even managed to fit on the slide that was. Soon, Fabrizio placed a cup of coffee in front of him as well as a plate with an omlette. He took a sip of his coffee as he watched his friend busy himself in the kitchen, squeezing fresh orange juice for the kids. Ermal smiled softly at the sight. Oh how he wished this was something he could wake up to every single morning. To be able to wake up to Fabrizio every single morning.

Fabrizio had finished with the orange juice and turned around to pass the glasses to the children, when he noticed Ermal looking at him with a smile on his face and honestly that smile did things to him. He smiled back and when Ermal realised that Fabrizio had caught him staring he quickly averted his gaze to his mug. _'That was weird'_ Fabrizio thought. Why was Ermal averting his gaze like that? Did Fabrizio make him uncomfortable? He was wearing clothes. Maybe it was the fact he had mentioned that dream. Though he couldn't help himself. Opening the door to the guest bedroom he didn't expect to hear the soft moans escaping Ermals mouth. At first Fabrizio had thought that he had entered at a very awkward moment but he soon realised that Ermal was only dreaming but God did those moans turn him on. He wished he was able to make Ermal moan like that. A part of him wondered who Ermal might have been dreaming about. Not that it was any of his business but he couldn't help but let his mind wander. _'What if he was dreaming about me?'_ Fabrizio shook his head. There was no way that was the case. Why would Ermal be having such a dream about him?

Picking up his own plate and coffee mug, he went to join everyone at the kitchen table, where Anita was excitedly telling Ermal about the park that they were going to go to. Where she often played in and how the swings were her favourite but they were often occupied by older children who didn't want to share. Fabrizio had never been at that park with her before. Giada usually took her and Libero there, as it was closer to her house, but Anita insisted that she wanted to go there today because she wanted to show it to Ermal. So after breakfast, everyone got dressed, Fabrizio and Ermal packed food and drinks for the day as they decided to spend most of the day at the park and soon the Mobrici family and Ermal were in the car on the way to the park.

It took them 30 minutes to get there, since there was some traffic, but they easily managed to find a spot to park and soon had their blanket and bags set up on the grass where they had a clear view of the whole playground area so Fabrizio would be able to keep an eye on Anita and Libero. As soon as they got there, Anita and Libero ran towards the swings, which to the girls delight were free. Ermal and Fabrizio, for now, were sitting on the blanket, enjoying the sun and the light breeze. The park was surprisingly empty but Fabrizio didn't complain. He and Ermal were busy discussing a TV show that they both watched, when Anita ran towards them crying, followed by Libero who looked like he had fallen over. Oh God, he took his eyes away from his children for a minute and they already had an accident. What if Anita fell off the swing. Or what if it was Libero. Or both?

"What's wrong amore? Did you fall?"

Anita threw herself at her father crying, without saying a word and Libero sat down beside him on the blanket. His shirt and shorts were covered in dirt and he was clearly angry as he tried to dust himself off. Did his children get into an argument again?

"Libero can you tell me what happened? Because I don't think I will be getting any answers from your sister."

"It's those stupid teenagers. They made Anita get off the swings and when I told them that they couldn't do that one of them pushed me over."

Looking in the direction of the swings Fabrizio noticed a group of teenagers, drinking beers and being obnoxiously loud. How dare they. How dare they come into a childrens playground during the day to drink and smoke and kick children out of it but most of all, how dare they lay a hand on his son.

"Ermal can you please take Anita? I need to have a word with them."

"Bizio..."

He didn't say anything else when he saw the look on Fabrizio's face.  Now that was an angry Fabrizio and god did it terrify him. He took Anita from him, holding her close and gently stroking her hair.

"Don't do anything stupid."

"I'm just going to talk."

Fabrizio voice was eerily calm and Ermal didn't like it one bit. He knew Fabrizio wasn't stupid enough to beat up a bunch of 16-17 year olds but he couldn't help but worry. Fabrizio made his way over towards the swing. Finally, one of the boys noticed him.

"Holy shit guys. It's Fabrizio Moro."

The boys friends all turned around to stare at Fabrizio but did not like the look of him one bit.

"Don't you 'It's Fabrizio Moro' me. How dare you, lay your hand on my son? Or any kid for that matter."

And it was in that exact moment, that those teenagers knew that they had fucked up big time.

"What do you think you're doing? It's not even midday and you come in here, kick children out of a children's playground so you can sit and drink beer? Get out of here before I decide to call the police and so help me if I hear from my kids that you were here again stopping children from playing."

The group did not need to be told twice. The look on Fabrizio's face told them that he was not joking and in all honesty the man looked terrifying. Within a minute the teenagers were all making a quick exit from the area and Fabrizio made his way back towards the blanket where Anita had stopped crying and was sitting on Ermal's lap, playing with a strand of her hair. The sight had made all his anger melt away and oh how he wished that this sight was something that he could see more often. He sat down on the blanket and looked at Libero, he had to make sure that his son wasn't hurt.

"Are you alright Libero? You aren't hurt are you?"

"No papa. I'm fine."

Fabrizio sighed in relief. He was glad that his children weren't hurt and he hoped that those teenagers would stay away from the playground for good. After a few minutes of rest, and a packet of biscuits shared with Libero, Anita got to her feet and took Ermal's hand in hers.

"Come on zio! You promised me I can push you off the slide!"

Ermal chuckled softly and nodded as he stood up. She was right, he did promise her that. Following the girl towards the playground, he manage to climb into the little house structure and managed to get to the slide. He sat down and turned to Anita.

"Come slide down with me. I'm scared."

He was obviously only joking much to the delight of the girl.

"But it's just a slide zio!"

"But it's so tall!"

Anita laughed and sat down in between Ermal's legs and the two of them slid down the slide, somehow, and Ermal doesn't know how, he managed to fall of the slide at the bottom, which caused Anita to laugh so hard that she had tears in her eyes. He chuckled softly and stood up, dusting himself off and looked up to see Fabrizio watching them with his phone in his hand. That bastard.

"Che bello! I'm sure that your fans are going to love this!"

"You wouldn't dare."

"This is an Instagram live Ermal. I did dare."

He changed the camera so it was filming him and he laughed as he saw Ermal with a smirk on his face making his way towards him.

"I have to go now. I think Ermal is coming after me."

He ended the Instagram live and threw his phone to Libero before taking off to the side and around to the playground, where he stood behind the climbing frames.

"You won't catch me."

Suddenly someone grabbed his hand laughing. He looked down and saw Anita holding onto his arm for dear life.

"But I did! Hurry zio! I've got papa!"

Fabrizio pretended to try and free himself from Anita's grasp as Ermal came closer, with a playful smile on his face.

"What do you think we should do with him Anita?"

The little girl thought for a while.

"Make him go down the slide on his own and then pay for our ice cream?"

Ermal laughed softly. He couldn't say no to those terms. Plus he would be able to get back at Fabrizio for filming him. Not that he really minded, this whole act was more for Anita's amusement.

"Sounds like a great idea. You hear that Mobrici? Get climbing."

Fabrizio realised that he had no choice. Ermal took out his phone from his pocket and turned on the camera. He wasn't going to lie, the sight of Fabrizio on a children's climbing frame was a hilarious sight. He knew Twitter would appreciate. Fabrizio sat down at the top of the slide and waved at the camera, the sound of Anita laughing off camera probably being the main thing to be heard, she was finding this whole ordeal to be really hilarious. Fabrizio pushed himself off but didn't even make it down further than before he stopped. Turning to look what the issue he realised that the shirt he had wrapped around his waist got stuck. Below Ermal, Anita and Libero were completely loosing it. Ermal still filming.

"Yeah...I think I'm stuck."

"Oh you think Fabri?"

Fabrizio untied the shirt and slid down the rest of the slide before getting up and trying to get his shirt without ripping it. Once he had succeeded he waved it above his head in triumph. Anita ran up to her father laughing.

"I'm proud of you papa. Zio Ermal was scared on going down on his own."

"Oh was he now? So...who wants some ice cream?"

The children cheered and ran up to the blanket and began packing their things away, Fabrizio and Ermal following slowly behind and laughing at their eagerness.

"I'm proud of you for going down the slide by yourself Fabri."

"I will leave you in this park Meta."

The two men laughed and helped the children clean up. It seemed that their time at the park was much shorter than they anticipated. They made their way to the car and drove to the children's favourite ice cream place.

The rest of the day they decided to spend in central Rome. They walked around to the Colloseum and some other trousity locations having fun. For the most part, they just let Anita and Libero decided where they wanted to go next. They ended their day out at the cinema, watching a new Disney movie. Once they had finished, it was time to head back home to start making dinner. Once they got home, Anita and Libero went up to their rooms and Ermal and Fabrizio started making dinner. Well mostly Fabrizio, Ermal was in charge of cutting up the vegetables.

Once he was finished with the vegetables, they were making a stir fry, he put them into a bowl and got up to pass it to Fabrizio. When he put the bowl down, he stood behind Fabrizio and put his chin on his shoulder, looking what he was doing.

At that moment Fabrizio wanted nothing more than to drop the knife and chicken in his hand and just turn around and hug Ermal. To hold him close and just kiss him. To tell him how he felt. Though there was no way that Ermal felt that way about him, right? However Ermal did just put his chin on his shoulder like that, leaning against his back. He did want to visit him with no apparent reason, because Ermal had not mentioned this song he spoke of. Fabrizio was fighting an internal battle. Should he go for it? He could loose this amazing friendship that he and Ermal had. Or he could gain something more. _'You only live once.'_ he thought before putting the knife and chicken down and quickly reaching for cloth to wipe his hands and turning around and hugging Ermal.

The younger man was somewhat surprised at that. Shit. What did this mean? Should he just keep hugging Fabrizio or should he maybe try to kiss him.  He was about to pull away and ask Fabrizio if everything was alright. Maybe something had happened and he needed to be comforted? He was about to say something when he felt Fabrizio's lips on his. **_Holy shit._** It was actually happening? Fabrizio had actually kissed him. Fabrizio made the first move and shit it would actually be a good idea for Ermal to kiss him back.

He wrapped his arms around Fabrizio's neck and tilted his head slightly to the side as he kissed him back. He loved how Fabrizio's lips felt on his, how Fabrizio's stubble slightly scratched at his face and **holy shit he was kissing Fabrizio Moro.** However, much to Ermal's dismay Fabrizio pulled away. Oh no. He hated it. Fabrizio realised that he made a mistake. So many emotions were going through Ermal's mind that he almost didn't feel Fabrizio's hand on his cheek. He only realised that when Fabrizio kissed him again. This time he deepened the kiss, Ermal felt Fabrizio's tounge against his lower lip, as if asking permission and oh god did Ermal give it to him. He pulled Fabrizio closer to him as they made out until a soft little moan escaped Ermal's lips.

Fabrizio was honestly on cloud nine. He though that Ermal would push him away, that he would yell at him but no. He was kissing him back. He wasn't disgusted. He didn't storm out and honestly Fabrizio was so happy that he could cry. When he heard the soft moan escape Ermal's lips he nearly died on the spot. God, he had made Ermal moan like that. It was because of him. However he had to pull away, smirking softly, his hand still on Ermal's cheek.

"Shh...Anita and Libero are upstairs."

He saw Ermal blush before he laughed and rested his forehead on Fabrizio's shoulder. The older man couldn't help but run his hand through Ermal's hair. He was able to do that now, right? They were- what exactly were they? Did Ermal want to date him? Or was it just a spur of the moment thing and Ermal didn't have any feelings for him or no desire to be in a relationship with him. He was about to say something when he heard footsteps upstairs and the two had to pull away before the children came downstairs.

"When will dinner be ready papa?"

"I'm just finishing the chicken amore. So as soon as the chicken and vegetables are ready I'll call you."

That was a good enough answer for the children and they returned to their rooms. Ermal looked at Fabrizio, unsure of what he should do. Should he say something or would that ruin the mood? Should he kiss him back? Pretend like nothing happened? Suddenly he felt Fabrizio wrap his arm around his waist and Ermal couldn't help but notice how good this felt and how natural.

"Don't think so much."

Fabrizio murmured softly against his lips and kissed him again and Ermal could swear that his legs turned into jelly. The kiss was so soft and so gentle. Fabrizio had to have had feelings for him right?

"What..."

Ermal's voice trailed off, not sure how to finish the sentence. He just didn't know what to say and it's not as if anyone has ever made Ermal speechless. Well maybe Fabrizio did. Of course he did. Of course Fabrizio Mobrici was the only person capable of making Ermal Meta speechless. Once again, they heard footsteps upstairs and moved away from each other, Fabrizio returning to the chicken and Ermal picking up the first thing that his hand could grab.

"Oooh! Are we having cookies zio?"

Ermal looked at Anita and then at his hand and realised that the object he had picked up was a packet of cookies.

"No Anita. Not until after dinner. I just accidentally knocked them off the counter and was picking them up."

The little girl pouted but knew that her papa wouldn't let her have any sweets before dinner anyway. Satisfied with the answer she turned her attention to her father.

"Papa, can me and Libero watch a DVD downstairs?"

"Of course you can. Though you will pause the movie during dinner. Remember, no TV when we're eating."

Anita nodded and happily ran over to her brother who had already turned the DVD player on. Yeah, the kids knew that their father wouldn't say no to them. As the turned their 

attention to the Disney movie on the TV, Fabrizio walked over to Ermal and placed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"We'll talk after dinner."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo....I was going to originally wait until they got to London for this to happen but....I couldn't help myself.  
> I just...asdmshkjashjlfshsdg  
> Chapter 11 will hopefully arrive later tonight 
> 
> Let me know what you think and yeah enjoy basically!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because they can

_We'll talk after dinner._

Those words echoed in Ermal's head the entire time through dinner. Fabrizio had kissed him before he said that. Clearly he didn't mean anything bad by it. He probably just wanted to talk about this. About their feelings. However that made Ermal even more anxious. What if Fabrizio was going to tell him that it was a spur of the moment thing. That he didn't want to be anything more than friends? Ermal wasn't sure whether he could bear that. It would break him. To, for less than 5 minutes, feel like he was on cloud nine, that Fabrizio returned his feelings, only to be told that it wasn't the case would honestly break him. He didn't really say much during dinner. Which didn't go unnoticed by the children and Fabrizio.

"Are you okay zio? You're really quiet."

Ermal looked up from his plate and smiled at Anita. He needed to get his shit together. Fabrizio just wanted to talk. It wasn't the end of the world. Not to mention he was worrying Anita.

"Yes I'm fine Anita. I'm just thinking."

The answer was good enough for her and she continued telling Ermal about what she thought would have happened next in the movie. Ermal tried his best to listen to her, he really did but he couldn't help but let his mind wander. Especially every time he made eye contact with Fabrizio. Finally, after what seems like hours, they had finished their dinner and the children returned to watching their movie and after loading the dishwasher, Fabrizio joined them too.

Weren't they supposed to talk? Oh no, Fabrizio didn't have feelings for him. He didn't want to talk and he just made it obvious to Ermal. The younger man picked up his phone and his packet of cigarettes.

"I'm going outside to make a phone call. Rinald said to call him and that it was an emergency."

He then stepped outside the closed the door behind him. That was a lie. Rinald didn't text him. He quickly lit a cigarette and began walking towards the other end of the garden, away from the house. He didn't want Fabrizio to hear his conversation and in case he broke down, he didn't want Fabrizio to see that. Sitting down on the ground he unlocked his phone and called Andrea. A few seconds passed before his friend finally picked up.

"Hey Ermal. What's up?"

"We kissed."

There was silence on the other side of the phone. Great, Andrea wasn't going to talk to him either?

"Alright. You're on loud speaker. Marco is here. Now talk, what do you mean you kissed?"

"What the fuck do you think I meant?"

"You don't sound as happy as you should."

Ermal hesitated. Was he just being stupid and paranoid? Most likely but he needed Marco and Andrea to tell him that. To tell him that he was just being ridiculous.

"Well we kissed and then the kids came downstairs and Fabrizio said that we'll talk after dinner but after dinner he just loaded the dishwasher and when to watch the movie with his kids. So I told him that Rinald texted me and that it was an emergency and here I am talking to you."

Silence followed for about a minute.

"Maybe he just wants to wait until the kids go to sleep to talk to you? I mean that way you wouldn't risk being interrupted by them and you could talk freely."

Ermal though that over. Marco was probably right. Of course he was right. Ermal just let his thoughts get the better of him.

"What do I do?"

"You go back in there, join them in watching the movie and then when the kids go to bed you two talk."

"Then bone."

"Thanks for the advice Marco and no Andrea. I am not going to 'bone' Fabrizio."

They talked for a few minutes about something completely unrelated to try and put Ermal's mind at ease. Looking up Ermal saw the back door open and Fabrizio step outside. He said his goodbyes to his friends and put his phone into his pocket, making his way towards the house.

"Sorry. Turns out that I just left a light on in my apartment and my neighbour called Rinald who's my emergency contact to make sure everything was fine. They apparently thought I was inside and that something had happened."

Fabrizio smiled softly at him and nodded.

"Ah. I'm glad to hear that nothing had happened. Can we talk after the children go to bed? They're just going to finish the movie and then I'll send them up to bed. I just...just want us to talk without being interrupted."

Ermal felt as if a weight has been lifted from his chest. Of course he was just being an idiot and as always Marco was right. He nodded. What should he do? Should he maybe he should kiss Fabrizio? Was he even allowed to do that? They haven't talked yet so he didn't know whether Fabrizio wanted something more than them just being friends or not. As if reading his mind Fabrizio wrapped his arm around Ermal's waist and kissed him softly. Ermal was certain that had it not been for Fabrizio holding him, he would have dropped to the ground. When they pulled away, Fabrizio smiled at him, looking into his eyes.

"I can hear you thinking. Stop. Relax."

Ermal nodded and he and Fabrizio sat outside in a comfortable silence, smoking. They had nearly finished when the door opened and Libero stuck his head out.

"The movie is finished papa. I've turned the TV off. We'll go get ready for bed now."

And he disappeared. Fabrizio finished his cigarette and stood up, stretching slightly.

"Why don't you wait for me in the studio?"

Ermal nodded and quickly finished his own cigarette before going inside. Fabrizio had already gone upstairs so Ermal made his way to the studio. He sat on the sofa for a few seconds before jumping to his feet. He was still nervous. What would they say to each other? Sighing, he picked up Fabrizio's guitar and started playing absentmindedly, trying to focus on the music and not the thoughts in his head. It seemed like forever since Fabrizio went upstairs. What if he had fallen asleep and Ermal would sit here the whole night like an idiot. Sighing once again he closed his eyes and started playing Ragazza Paradiso, singing softly to himself and maybe, just maybe, once again changing the words to ragazzo.

 

It turned out that tonight Anita was having one of those nights were she just didn't want to go to sleep. He sat with her, telling her a story but nothing. As much as he loved his daughter, he just wanted to go to Ermal and tell him everything. To confess his feelings. When Anita finally fell asleep Fabrizio nearly fell down the damn stairs that's how fast he made his way to the studio. As he approached the room, he could hear Ermal singing and playing the guitar. He recognised the song. Of course he did. He'd recognise Ermal's music anywhere. That's when he heard the pronoun change in the song and his heart skipped a beat. He stood in the doorway, listening until Ermal finished the song.

"Something was off about the lyrics I think."

Ermal quickly turned around and saw Fabrizio wink at him. Oh god. That wink. He put the guitar down and went to sit beside Fabrizio on the sofa.

"So..."

"So."

Both men looked at each other and burst out laughing. They were being ridiculous. This was going to be a simple chat. They could do it.

"Look Bizio...I understand if you don't feel the same way...I completely understand if it was a spur of the moment thing and-"

Ermal was cut off by Fabrizio kissing him. The older man found his nervous rambling to be cute but he also didn't see how Ermal didn't see that it wasn't just a spur of the moment thing.  When they pulled away, Fabrizio took Ermal's hands in his.

"Sorry. I had to stop your ramblings. Okay, here goes nothing. I care a lot about you. You are one of the closest friends that I have and I know I can tell you anything. That you will understand and always be there for me. But..."

Oh god. There was a but. Of course there was a but. Fabrizio wanted to roll his eyes when he saw the look on Ermal's face. Okay, maybe there was no need for that dramatic pause after the but. He placed his hand on Ermal's cheek.

"But I want us to be more than that. You have no idea how my heart skips a beat whenever I see you calling or that you've sent me a text. You have no idea how my heart melts whenever I see you interacting with Anita and Libero. I always miss you when you're not around. More than a friend should miss another friend. Basically what I'm saying is that instead of introducing you as Ermal, my friend...I want to be able to introduce you as Ermal, my boyfriend."

When he finished talking, he looked at Ermal expectedly. Oh God. He did return his feelings. Fabrizio Mobrici did return his feelings. It wasn't all in Ermal's imagination. And now he was asking Ermal to be his boyfriend. Ermal would be able to call Fabrizio his boyfriend. He would be able to kiss Fabrizio whenever he wanted. He should probably say something.

"Fabri....I...fuck...yes!"

Fabrizio felt himself grin like a fool as he leaned forward to kiss his boyfriend. Because now he could say boyfriend. He felt Ermal's hands in his hair and he couldn't help but deepen the kiss, pushing the younger man down onto the sofa. He supported his body with one hand, the other gently caressing Ermal's chest. He wanted to hear Ermal moan again. To know that he was the reason behind it because that sounds was the most erotic thing that he has ever hear. Soon enough, after gently biting down on Ermal's lower lip, he was rewarded with the most sinful sound he had ever heard escape Ermal's lips and he couldn't help smirking.

Ermal pulled away slowly. Not that he wanted to but he had so many questions to ask Fabrizio. After he was sitting up again, he took Fabrizio's hand in his intertwined their fingers before lifting the hand up to his mouth and placing a soft kiss to it.

"When did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That you liked men? That you liked me?"

Fabrizio chuckled softly, they had made themselves comfortable on the sofa, Ermal laying down in Fabrizio's arms and Fabrizio couldn't help but notice how perfectly he fit there.

"Well I realised years ago that I also like men. Though the only person that knows is Romina...and now you. Not that I'm ashamed of it. I just thought that it was nobody's business. As for you..."

He leaned down and placed soft kisses to Ermal's neck, which made the younger man laugh softly and reach up with his hand to place his hand on his boyfriends cheek.

"As for you...I'm not sure of the exact moment that I realised...I know only recently I've started noticing things more, that I actually let myself admit that I did in fact like you more than just a friend. And what about you? The same questions."

Ermal laughed softly and pulled Fabrizio down for another kiss, just because he could and honestly he couldn't get enough of kissing his boyfriend. Because once again, he could. Fabrizio was his boyfriend. He could say that now.

"Well I don't think I've ever realised that I liked men before you came along. I mean I would often think 'Oh he is handsome' but I don't think I ever like realised that I liked men in that way. Then you came along. I am not sure of the exact moment I started having feelings for you but I was going to tell you that I need back in Lisbon."

"You were?"

"Well according to Andrea and Marco I did. Though I didn't know it until a few days ago. I think I allowed myself to acknowledge that I had feelings for you the last time I was here. I think that was the first time I properly thought about it and realised that."

Fabrizio was smiling at Ermal as he listened to him talk, absentmindedly playing with his hair. Because he could now. So Ermal wanted to apparently tell him in Lisbon. He felt somewhat sad for a moment. Had he told Fabrizio, they wouldn't have wasted all this time. They could have been together for longer.

"Do you want to watch a movie Fabri?"

Fabrizio laughed softly at the question and leaned down to kiss Ermal again.

"Of course."

He chuckled softly and waited for Ermal to get up first before he did the same. They left the studio holding hands. It wasn't necessary since they were at home but they could now and neither wanted to let go. Ermal went to turn on the TV and search for a movie on Netflix and Fabrizio went to the kitchen to prepare some popcorn and get some wine. That is how they spent the rest of the evening. Watching a movie and occasionally feeding each other popcorn because they could. Because now they could be as disgustingly cute as they wanted.

When the movie finished both men headed upstairs. Ermal stopped at the door to the guest bedroom. What should he do? Should he still sleep in the guest bedroom? Could he sleep with Fabrizio? However, as if reading his mind, Fabrizio turned stopped and turned around, offering his hand to Ermal.

"Are you coming amore?"

Ermal couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face. He walked up to Fabrizio and took his hand before he followed him into the bedroom. Which was much cleaner than last week. Fabrizio closed the door behind them and proceeded to take off his shirt before throwing it onto an empty chair. Ermal stood on the side of the bed somewhat unsure. Not that he's never been in a relationship, of course he had, but this was...different. He cared so much for Fabrizio and he was worried about doing something wrong and ruining it. He didn't want to ruin this. Fabrizio noticed that Ermal hesitated and smiled lovingly at him, pulling the covers away and motioning for Ermal to join him.

"We don't have to do anything you know. Besides sleeping that it."

Ermal relaxed slightly. It's not that he wouldn't want to have sex with Fabrizio. He clearly did but not now. Not yet. It was too soon. He went to join Fabrizio on the bed and Fabrizio immediately pulled the covers over him and pulled him closer.

"And cuddle. I forgot to mention that part."

That Ermal was alright with. He made himself comfortable in bed but not even a minute passed when he sat up and looked at Fabrizio, who was looking at him with an amused look on his face.

"Would...you mind if I eh....took my shirt off?"

"Mind? I mind that you still have your shirt on."

He smirked at Ermal and the younger man rolled his eyes and quickly took his shirt off. Fabrizio chuckled softy as he watched his boyfriend before he took his shorts off. Ermal raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh come on. It's hot. I promise you that my underwear will stay on."

_To be fair, I wouldn't mind if it didn't._ Ermal smirked at his inner voice before he did the same. Fabrizio was right, it was too hot to sleep in his jogging bottoms. Somewhat cooler and more comfortable, he tried to get himself comfortable once again.

Fabrizio couldn't help but watch Ermal with an amused look on his face. He turned to lay down on his side so he could stare at Ermal as much as he wanted to. Because he could.

"Bizio....can we maybe not tell anyone about us just yet? Not that I don't want to tell anyone...I just..."

Fabrizio leaned over and kissed him softly. He knew what Ermal meant and he understood. He realised that he probably should stop interrupting Ermal with kisses but he just wanted to reassure him that every thing was fine. He knew how Ermal could get if he kept thinking things over and over and he didn't want that for him. He wanted Ermal to be at peace about their relationship. To know that Fabrizio didn't mind keeping it to themselves for now. That it was alright. That everything was alright. 

"Of course amore. Whenever you are ready. Would you mind if I told Romina though? She won't tell anyone and I feel like I owe it to her."

"Of course. I mean I'm probably going to tell Marco and Andrea. I definitely owe it to them."

"There was no emergency call with Rinald was there?"

"No."

Fabrizio laughed softly and pulled Ermal closer, so his head was resting on Fabrizio's chest. He sighed happily as he gently stroked Ermal's hair. How did he get so lucky?

"And what about Anita and Libero?"

"What about them?"

"Do you want to tell them? Do you want to wait?"

Fabrizio was silent for a moment. He didn't think about that. He did want to tell them. He rarely kept things from his children. Well good things at least. And that was a big and good thing.

"Well I would like to tell them but I understand if you want to wait."

"No....we should tell them. Then I'll be able to do this whenever I want."

He leaned up and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek. Fabrizio was grinning like a fool. There's no way he'd be able to sleep tonight. He was just too excited to sleep. The fact that he was able to call Ermal his boyfriend. The fact he was able to hold him as they slept together. He was about to reply when he realised that Ermal had already fallen asleep. He watched the curly haired man and honestly felt like crying. This was definitely one of the best days of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed this!  
> not metamoro related but I gotta share this cause im having a breakdown.  
> so gianluca from il volo is only a year older than me. that's all
> 
> as always let me know what you thought of this chapter!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The children find out but all Anita want's is some pancakes.

The next morning, Ermal was woken up by the sound of doors slamming and footsteps running across the hall. He was slightly confused, as he usually was when he woke up, when he realised that he was in Fabrizio's bed. With his head on Fabrizio's chest. The noises he heard were made by Anita. Shit. The kids. He knew that they agreed they'd tell them but it would be much better to be told rather than run into their father's bedroom and see him in bed with another man. He could tell the footsteps getting closer and he had nowhere to go. He quickly moved so he was sleeping next to Fabrizio and not on him and turned with his back to Fabrizio. Just as he closed his eyes he could hear the door open.

"PAPA! Zio Ermal is gone!"

The girl ran up to the bed when she must have realised that Ermal was sleeping beside Fabrizio. Ermal was touched by the fact that the reason she was making all the fuss was because she thought he was gone. But he also did feel bad. Ermal felt Fabrizio stir in the bed beside him, before he sat up.

"Anita. It's early. What happened?"

"Well I was going to say that zio Ermal is gone but he's here."

Fabrizio looked at Ermal, then at his daughter and his son standing in the door way. This was not how he wanted to tell them, but he was going to. He couldn't lie to them. He motioned for Anita and Libero to join him on the bed. Hearing this, Ermal decided it was time to 'wake up'. He pretened to act as if he had just woken up. He opened his eyes and saw Fabrizio smile at him as well as Anita looking confused. Why was zio Ermal sleeping with her papa? Did he have a nightmare? Fabrizio was thinking how to begin this. How does he start to tell his children that he was, as of yesterday, in a relationship with Ermal?  How does one even begin to tell children that?

"Are you and zio Ermal dating?"

Fabrizio looked at Libero. He did not expect his son to speak up first. He was slightly surprised. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before Ermal came to his rescue.

"Yes we are. I care about your papa very much."

He reached out and took Fabrizio's hand in his. He carefully watched Anita and Libero, scared as to what their reaction might be. He didn't want the children to hate him.

"Oh. Can we have pancakes for breakfast?"

Ermal blinked in surprise as he looked at Anita. Well he expected everything but that. Fabrizio looked just as surprised. Not that he expected his children to react in a bad way. He expected them to be confused? Or ask questions.

"Of course Anita. Can you just give us a few moments?"

Anita nodded and as she and her brother were leaving the room Ermal heard her speak.

"See! I told you my 'welcome home' card worked."

As the door closed behind the children, Ermal looked at Fabrizio, before the two men burst out laughing. Fabrizio couldn't believe this interaction. He would of course talk to his children properly during breakfast but for now, Anita's reaction was hilarious to him. He leaned over to Ermal and kissed him lovingly, his hand gently caressing the younger man's chest. He dared to move his hand a little lower, to the waistband of his boxers.

"Come on Bizio. Not now. You have to make pancakes. Besides....I don't think I'm ready just yet."

Ermal blushed as he said and Fabrizio couldn't help but feel his heart melt, again. He gave his boyfriend a final kiss and sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Of course amore. I understand. I'm sorry."

Ermal too sat up and wrapped his arms around Fabrizio from behind, placing gentle kisses to Fabrizio's shoulders and neck. He wanted to show him that everything was alright and because he could. The words replying in his mind. _He could._ It was an amazing feeling.

"It's alright. I'm not angry...I just...want to take this slow. I've got no experience in this area. I've never dated a man before. Let alone had sex with one."

"Well...you know if you want me to tell you what goes where-"

"Oh my God. Shut up!"

Fabrizio laughed as he stood up and began getting dressed. Ermal only rolled his eyes and did the same, putting his clothes on and stretching. Fabrizio walked up to him pouting and wrapped his arms around Ermal's waist.

"Hmmm....I like you better with your shirt off. Or in your boxers. Just like in that photo you sent me. Did you actually mean to send me that photo in the end?"

"Well...I took the photo because I thought that I should send it to you but in that moment even my drunk me thought that it was too far. So originally I took it to send it to you yes. But what I actually meant to send was a meme."

Fabrizio chuckled and kissed him once more before making his way downstairs to start making breakfast, Ermal following behind him. Once in the kitchen, Ermal began making coffee for himself and Fabrizio, whilst Fabrizio began making the pancakes. Once Ermal was done with the coffee, he sat down at the table. Soon enough, Libero left the sofa to sit beside Ermal.

"Zio, can we talk?"

Ermal looked at the boy somewhat confused and somewhat alarmed. He was worried as to what Libero wanted to talk about. What if the boy hated him. He didn't really say anything earlier one. Ermal cleared his throat and nodded, forcing himself to remain calm and smile.

"Of course we can Libero. Is something wrong?"

"Well...I don't think so? I just....I remembered that at school one of our teachers said that two men being in a relationship is wrong and that it should be punished but I'm confused. Is that the case? Are you and papa going to be in trouble?"

Being 10 he might have known more things than his sister but here Libero was lost. The fact that his papa and zio were in a relationship didn't bother him. He knew that zio Ermal always made papa happy so that was a good thing. Though he was worried. He wasn't sure exactly what that teacher meant by it and the bell rang before the teacher could continue talking but he didn't want his papa and zio to be in trouble.

Ermal felt his heart break. Was Libero just worried about them? Is that why he was quiet and didn't say anything before? He thought about what the best way to reply would be. He wanted to reassure him that everything was fine. Though he was also disgusted that in this day and age a teacher could say something like that in a classroom full of kids and get away with it.

"No Libero. Me and papa are not in trouble. You see...some people don't like two men, or two women, being in a relationship. So they try to spread lies like that. Me and your papa care about each other very much and want to be together just like a man and a woman would be. There is nothing wrong with that. It is normal but some people don't see it the same way."

Libero listened to Ermal and nodded. He was thinking it over and over. He didn't think that teachers should be able to lie to students at school. They were supposed to teach them true things and fact and not lies.

"I'm happy to hear that. I didn't want anything to happen to you or papa. You make him happy."

"Thank you Libero. Don't worry. Everything is and will be fine. Though if you could not tell anyone about this yet? Me and your papa aren't really ready to tell other people just yet."

"Of course zio. My lips are sealed."

Just then Fabrizio had served them pancakes. Anita had joined them and for the most part breakfast was a nice quiet affair, until Anita remembered that Ermal had to go back to Milan. However this time, the little girl decided to argue rather than cry.

"But if you and papa are together then you can live with us! Then you won't have to leave all the time!"

Ermal couldn't help but laugh softly. Trust Anita to think of the most practical resolutions for everything. Fabrizio leaned over and placed a soft kiss to his daughters cheek. It would be wonderful if Ermal could live with them but he knew that it was too soon for that just yet. Not that he had any doubts about living with Ermal.

"It's a bit too soon for that piccola. Plus I have to go back because I have rehearsals for my tour."

Anita sighed knowing that zio Ermal was right. It just wasn't fair that they couldn't spend more time together. However Ermal's flight wasn't until the evening so they had most of the day to spend together. They decided to spend it at home. They spent the entire day playing with the children and before they knew it, it was time to head to the airport. This time Anita didn't cry because now that papa and zio  Ermal were dating, she knew they would see each other very soon.

At the airport they said their goodbyes, Ermal hugging the children and promising that he would see them very soon. Next it was time to say goodbye to Fabrizio. They had said their proper goodbye when still at Fabrizio's house since they had agreed to keep their relationship a secret for now. Fabrizio hugged Ermal, holding him close.

"I'm going to miss you amore."

"I know Bizio. I'll miss you too. But it's only just over two weeks until London. Then we'll be together again. Plus I will call you later tonight."

"I know. Have a safe flight and text me when you land."

Ermal nodded and hugged him once again. He hugged the children again before making his way towards security and luggage check. Just as he began walking away, he could hear Anita speak, very loudly.

"Papa! Why didn't you kiss zio Ermal goodbye?"

He couldn't help but chuckle softly at that. He didn't have long to wait before his flight so after going to pick up a bottle of wine and sitting at a cafe for a while, it was time to make his way towards his gate. Thankfully his flight wasn't delayed and they even managed to land in Mila 5 minutes before their estimated arrival. Once he collected his luggage, he made his way outside where Marco was waiting outside. He smiled at his friend as he got into his car.

"I hope Andrea hasn't burned my apartment down."

"Don't worry. Everything is fine. So...why didn't you kiss Fabrizio goodbye?"

Ermal looked at Marco confused. How did he know? Maybe he texted Fabrizio? He was about to say something when Marco passed Ermal his phone as he started his engine. It was a link to a gossip site article that was posted not even 30 minutes ago.

**Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro a couple?**

Attached was a photo of Ermal and Fabrizio at the airport hugging. Ermal was somewhat annoyed. Not even a moment of peace but this wasn't that bad. He continued scrolling, reading some bullshit speculation. He was nearly at the end of the article, if he could even call it that, when he saw an embedded tweet.

**_"GUYS! I'm at the airport to pick up my cousin and look who I see! And listen to what Anita says at the end! @MetaErmal @FabrizioMoroOff are dating? Like in real life?"_ **

He clicked on the tweet and the video watched it. At the start you can hear the girl saying something along the lines of 'oh my god it's Ermal and Fabrizio' and then it shows them too hugging, Ermal hugging the children and the video ended after Anita asked why Fabrizio didn't kiss Ermal goodbye.

Ermal spent the next 15 minutes in silence, completely blocking Marco out if his friend said anything. He wasn't sure what he should do. Should he address this? Maybe try to make it into a joke saying that children say silly stuff like that all the time? But he didn't want to upset Fabrizio. He knew that they agreed to keep it between them now but he also didn't want to hurt Fabrizio's feelings. He was hesitating and was about to text Fabrizio when he got a notification that Fabrizio had tagged him a tweet. He clicked on the notification and read Fabrizio's tweet.

**Everyone please calm down! @MetaErmal was only visiting us as we are working on another song together. Anita had spent the weekend watching  Disney movies and you know how children say the first thing that comes to their mind!**

Ermal was relieved. He was thankful that Fabrizio had decided to address this first. He was about to text him when he got a text from Fabrizio.

**From: Bizio**

**I'm sorry about that tweet. I hope it doesn't bother you. I know you wanted to keep our relationship private for and I know I could have ignored it. I hope that you aren't angry xxx**

Ermal closed his eyes and sighed in relief. What did he do to deserve such an amazing boyfriend like Fabrizio. He quickly typed a reply.

**To: Bizio**

**It's alright. I was going to message you and ask if you wanted to say something. Thank you for doing this. I'm in the car home now with Marco. I will FaceTime you later <3**

He put his phone away and turned to look at Marco.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you just then. I just...wasn't sure what to do. Though Fabrizio already took care of that."

"No problem. So is it just me and Andrea who know?"

"Yes and if you wouldn't mind not telling anyone. We want to keep it private for now."

"Well damn. Alright let me just quickly cancel the several billboards that I paid for."

Ermal laughed softly, now feeling more relaxed. Soon they arrived at his apartment and somehow it felt wrong. There was no Fabrizo, no Anita and Libero and he felt that his flat lacked that homley touch that Fabrizio's house did. He never felt that before but now he did and he wished nothing more than to be back at Fabrizio's house. Andrea was in the kitchen, he had decided to cook something for the three of them and after taking his bag to his bedroom, the three of them were sitting around Ermal's kitchen table.

"So you two are like officially dating now?"

"You sound like a 12 year old girl who is gossiping away with her friends Vige."

"Shut up Marco. So?"

"We are but we're keeping to ourselves. Besides you two and Fabrizio's sister and children."

Andrea and Marco nodded and promised that they wouldn't tell anyone and Ermal already knew that. Because they were his closest friends and he knew that he could trust them with anything. After dinner they had moved over to the sofa, the TV playing in the background as the three friends continued talking, glasses of water or juice in hand because there was no way in hell that Marco was letting these two drink again.

"Are you worried that when you do announce that you are dating, how it may affect your career?"

Ermal had not thought of it. He didn't think that his fans would turn away from him. Or be surprised. A lot of them had already 'shipped' him and Fabrizio, convinced that the two were already in a relationship.

"I don't know. I don't think my fans would be too surprised."

"Yeah... they could tell you two had a thing for the other before the two of you did. You should listen to them more often Ermal."

They continued talking for another hour until Ermal said that he was tired and that he was going to bed. In his room he quickly undress and got into bed before taking his phone and clicking on FaceTime to call Fabrizio. His boyfriend picked up almost instantly. He was in the studio, sitting at the keyboard.

"I'm not interrupting am I?"

"You? Never. How are you? I hope Andrea didn't burn your apartment down."

"No all's fine. He even cooked. Without setting off the fire alarms."

The door to Ermal's door swung open and Andrea stuck his head in, sticking his tongue out like a child.

"Fuck you Meta."

"That's my job."

Andrea snorted at Fabrizio's reply, said a quick hello and left, still snickering. Ermal on the other was blushing. Ah of course he'd now have to endure these quips from Fabrizio. Not that he minded.

"I miss you."

"You've only been gone a few hours. Though don't worry. I miss you too. Terribly. My bed feels empty without you."

At that, Ermal looked at the empty side of his own bed and sighed. He missed Fabrizio's arm around him. He missed last night when he was able to fall asleep listening to Fabrizio's heart beat.

"I know what you mean but it's not long until London. Think of that."

The two spoke for nearly an hour until Marco, who was also staying at Ermal's using the other guest bedroom, banged on the wall separating the two rooms. Ermal took this as a queue to go to sleep. He and Fabrizio said their good nights and he made sure to set his alarm before he turned the lights off and went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ta da!  
> chapter 12  
> bless anita, she just wanted some pancakes   
> just like marco wants some peace and quiet so he can sleep.  
> be glad that fabrizio isnt here marco, be glad


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fabrizio doesn't think his plan through and Ermal honestly has the best boyfriend ever

A week had passed since Ermal's visit to Rome and Fabrizio had missed him terribly. They had finally confessed their feelings to each other and they had to live on the other side of the country. However on Thursday morning everything changed and Fabrizio couldn't have been happier. He was in the middle of breakfast when his manager called him. Turned out a music organisation for students was having a day with talks with successful Italian musicians and someone had dropped out last minute and they had asked whether Fabrizio could come and take their place. Of course he agreed. His talk was scheduled for Saturday afternoon but he decided to make his way to Milan on Friday afternoon. He was going to surprise Ermal with a visit.

On Friday morning he took Anita and Libero to Giada's. Anita wasn't happy with that. She didn't see why they couldn't just come with him. Fabrizio told her that he'd be busy most of the time and Ermal was busy with rehearsals so no one would be able to look after them. She still had a mini temper tantrum over it but in the end she came to terms with it and busied herself with making drawings for Ermal. His journey to Milan was uneventful and he hoped that no one would post photos of him. Not that he'd mind, he'd gotten used to it by now, but he wanted this visit to be a surprise for Ermal. However, after arriving in Central Milan he realised one thing. He didn't actually have the address to Ermal's new flat. The last time he had visited Ermal, he had just broken up with Silvia and was staying at his brother's before he found his new place.

Fabrizio thought about calling Andrea or Marco but he realised that he didn't have any of their numbers. _Way to go Mobrici._ However he was determined not to call Ermal. This was going to be a surprise. He vaguely remembered the way to Rinald's house and he didn't really want to drop by uninvited or withouth a warning but he was determined to surprise Ermal. It took him nearly 3 hours to figure out where exactly Rinald lived. He had knocked on several wrong doors before a kind, older lady, pointed out Rinald's house to her. He was very thankful. Turned out that he wasn't far off, Rinald lived on the other side of the road. Fabrizio quickly crossed the road and walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A few moments later the door opened and he was greeted by the sight of Rinald, who looked like he had just woken up.

"Fabrizio?"

"Ciao Rinald. I'm sorry for dropping on you like this but I need your help."

"Yeah of course. Come in."

Rinald was surprised to see Fabrizio on his doorstep. Nevertheless, he stepped to the side and let Fabrizio inside before leading him to the kitchen where he began making coffee for them.

"So what can I help you with?"

Fabrizio tried to hide his blush. He wasn't sure whether Ermal told his brother and he didn't want to do this without Ermal's approval. Plus this was a conversation for Ermal and Rinald to have anyway.

"I was wondering if you could give me Ermal's new address? I'm in Milan for the weekend and wanted to surprise him but I realised that I don't have his new address. Or the phone number for Marco or Andrea. Or you, otherwise I wouldn't have turned up here like this. I'm really sorry for intruding. And for clearly waking you up."

"Eh don't worry about it. I fell asleep watching Netflix anyway. It's my day off. Course I can give you Ermal's address. Though he doesn't finish rehersals until late tonight. I can give you my spare key if you want though? I'm sure my brother won't mind."

Fabrizio smiled at Rinald in thanks from over his cup of coffee when he noticed him smirking at him. Fabrizio raised an eyebrow. So did Ermal speak with his brother then? What did this knowing smirk mean? Rinald leaned against the kitchen counter and took a sip of his coffee.

"So...a surprise for my brother? Any reason?"

"Not really. I just thought it would be fun."

"Oh cut the bullshit. I know Ermal has been pinning for you before he even knew he was. Plus you're not being very subtle either. Why else would you have made this effort to come here so I could give you his address and therefore making it more difficult rather than just calling Ermal?"

Fabrizio was somewhat speechless. Honestly, was everyone in Ermal's family like this? He was hesitant. He hesitated to tell Rinald. Clearly he didn't mind whether Ermal like men or not. But he still didn't want to over step a line.

"So you're either planning on making a move tonight or you're already together and have come here to surprise him."

Once again, Fabrizio's silence told Rinald everything he needed to know. The smirk returned to his face as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"How long?"

"About a week."

"And that bastard didn't tell me anything."

"We wanted to keep it to ourselves for now. Until Ermal was ready to come out. Please don't tell anyone. Especially your mother. I imagine this is something he'd like to tell her himself."

"Your secret is safe with me. Though honestly I don't know why he's stressing. Mamma has always suspected that Ermal wasn't entirely straight. The way he would sometimes turn around to look at men as they walked by or how he would sometimes compliment the way some guys from his school or job look like. She always suspected there was more to that. Though of course she never said anything. Then Ermal met you and the way you two were together her suspicions were confirmed. Even if Ermal didn't realise it himself."

"Why did she never say anything to him?"

Rinald raised an eyebrow at him and rolled his eyes playfully.

"Honestly. If you suspected that your son or daughter were gay would you confront them about it? Or wait until they were ready to tell you?"

"Yeah...you're right there."

He spent another half an hour chatting with Rinald before he decided to start making his way to Ermal's new apartment. As he walked out of the door, he turned around to once again thanks Rinald for his help.

"You're welcome. Also, a word of warning, Ermal may be older than me but I swear if you ever do anything to hurt my brother it won't end well for you. Trust me."

The look on Rinald's face told Fabrizio all he had to know. They said their goodbyes and Fabrizio began making his way towards the metro station. It took him 20 minutes to reach his stop. Stepping out of the station he stood facing a supermarket and he decided to go and buy a few things and cook dinner for Ermal. He'd most definitley come home hungry. He didn't know what food Ermal had at home but he didn't want to waste time going back and forth. He quickly brought a few ingredients for a simple risotto dish and a nice bottle of wine before going to try and find Ermal's apartment building. It didn't take him to long to find it and soon enough he was stepping into the aprtment for the first time.

He took off his shoes, he had manners after all, and made his way towards the kitchen. He put the stuff he brought down on the kitchen counter and decided to have a little look around the flat. He went into the living room and walked over to a shelf, smiling as he looked at the photos that Ermal had on there. He saw a few of Ermal and his friends, family. Next came a shelf with Ermal's awards. Fabrizio's eyes fell on the award they won at Sanremo. How crazy that it's only been afew months since then? Beside it was a photo of them with the trophy as well as a photo of the two of them hugging when they had heard that they won. Fabrizio walked down towards Ermal's bedroom, leaving his bag there. Well he might as well. Once he was done looking around the apartment he checked the time. He might as well start preparing dinner.

He saw that Ermal had a balcony in his living room and it gave him an idea. He looked outside and was happy to see that there was quite a bit of space out there. Even happier that Ermal had a table and chairs on it. He went into the kitchen and found some cleaning wipes and went outside to clean the table, before rummaging around Ermal's cupboards until he found a table cloth. He would apologise to Ermal for snooping around like that later. Though he was sure that Ermal wouldn't be angry. He was being a very romantic boyfriend after all. The table cloth that he found was red and he couldn't help but smirk. Oh how cliche.

Next he looked around Ermal's flat for some candles. Unfortunately he couldn't find any. Which meant he had to go back to the supermarket. Making sure he had his wallet and keys he left the flat and practically ran to the supermarket. He picked up some candles from the shelf and made his way to the tills when he was stopped by two girls.

"Oh my God. Fabrizio! Oh my god. Can we have a photo?"

Fabrizio nodded at the two girls and smiled, though inside he groaned. Couldn't they have said that a bit louder? He was sure China didn't hear them. He was happy to stop for fans. He really was but right now he didn't want anyone to know he was in Milan. Not before Ermal came home at least. He didn't want to risk Ermal seeing the photos.

"Would you two be able to do me a huge favour?"

"Of course Fabri!"

"Could you maybe wait until tomorrow to post the photo's anywhere online? Or even say you met me? I'm here for a surprise party for a friend and we don't want her to know that I'm here."

The two girls nodded and agreed that they would wait until tomorrow. Fabrizio thanked them and said goodbye before making his way to the tills. That was a smooth excuse. Of course he couldn't tell them the exact reason and he was actually somewhat proud of himself for his quick thinking.

10 minutes later Fabrizio was back in Ermal's flat. He place the candles on the table outside, though he'd wait for Ermal to come before he lit them. Rinald had given Fabrizio Andrea's phone number in case he needed it and he needed it right now. He dialled the number and waited for Andrea to pick up.

"Hello? Andrea Vigentini speaking."

"Hey it's Fabrizio. Please don't let Ermal know you're talking to me. Is he still in the studio?"

"Hold on just a moment."

There was silence for a bit and the sounds of doors opening and closing.

"Alright I'm back. Hi Fabrizio. Yes we're still in the studio though we're going to be finishing up soon. Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm at Ermal's flat. Rinald gave me the key and I'm cooking dinner for him and this is a surprise in general."

"You're in luck my friend. Me and Marco have been staying with Ermal but we're heading back home for the weekend after this session. So I guess you need our help with something?"

"You're correct. I want you to text me when you're going to be close to Ermal's building. Just so I know to expect him."

"You got it. Alright, I have to go now. I'll text you when we leave the studio and when we're going to be close. Alright Ermal's coming. Bye."

Before Fabrizio even had the chance to say goodbye Andrea had ended the call. Alright, now he was able to start cooking. He put the white wine that he brought in the fridge to chill and he was thankful he went shopping. Ermal's fridge was looking empty. Once the meal was prepared he made his way to the balcony to set up the table. He set the plates and the cutlery as well as the wine glasses and normal glasses for water, which he had poured into a jug and was currently keeping in the fridge. As well a fruit cake that he had picked up at the shop. Dessert sorted. As he finished setting up the table, he got a text from Andrea telling him that they had left the studio and that he and Marco were dropping Ermal off.

Fabrizio walked over to Ermal's room and looked at his shirt that he had ironed, once he found where Ermal kept his iron and ironing board. He was going to wear it tomorrow but he'd just wear his Metallica t-shirt. He wanted to look nice for his boyfriend. Once he received a text from Andrea that they were around the corner and would be pulling up to the building in a minute or two Fabrizio went to the kitchen and living room and turned the lights off. He quickly went to the kitchen and grabbed the pan with the risotto on it and went to the balcony, putting some on their plates as well pouring the now cold wine into their glasses. Alright, he was ready. He stood on the balcony and waited for Ermal to find him there.

 

Ermal said goodbye to Andrea and Marco who only shooed him out of the car and drove away before he could say anything. Well that was...odd? Shrugging, he made his way into his building and towards the lift. In his mind he was already thinking what take away to order. He was too lazy to go to the shop and do shopping and cook something. He stepped out the lift on the 6th floor and a delicious smell hit him, making his stomach growl. Segniora Donini must have her family over then. He sighed, thinking about Fabrizio, Libero and Anita and how much he missed them. Opening his front door, he realised that the smell was in fact coming from his own flat. That was weird. He didn't cook anything and he hasn't been home since the morning. As he shut the front door, he felt a draft coming from the living room. Did he leave the balcony door open? Had  someone broken in? He put his guitar case down and made his way towards the balcony. He could hear quiet music playing through some speaker outside. What the hell was going on. Stepping outside onto the balcony he gasped. The table was nicely set, with candles lit and to top it off, there stood his boyfriend.

"Fabrizio?!"

"Ciao, amore."

Ermal couldn't help but grin as he took in the sight before him. How...how was Fabrizio even here? How did he get inside? He walked over to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. God how he missed this. How he missed being able to kiss Fabrizio and hold him close.

Fabrizio wrapped his arms around his boyfriends waist, holding him close. He wanted to continue their make out session but their food would get cold and after all they had the entire night for that. He slowly pulled away from Ermal, the biggest smile on his face.

"Surprise?"

"H-How did you even get in here?"

"Rinald borrowed me his key."

"You went to see Rinald."

"I did and well...he kind of figured out that we're dating. I'm sorry. I wanted to ask Andrea or Marco for help but I didn't have any of their numbers and  I couldn't exactly call you and ask for them."

Ermal couldn't believe this. He wasn't angry at Fabrizio. How could he be? Plus he imagined his brother suspected that he had feelings for Fabrizio anyway. As Marco and Andrea pointed out to him, he wasn't exactly subtle when Fabrizio was around. He sat down opposite Fabrizio and looked at the table. The candles, the food, the wine, the soft music playing in the background. It was nearly too much for him and he had to close his eyes for a moment to stop the tears that were theratening to fall.

"Are you alright amore?"

"I'm more than alright Bizio. Thank you so much for all this. You are honestly the best. Is there another reason you're in Milan though?"

And Fabrizio began telling Ermal the story about the music organisation talk and how he obviously jumped at the opportunity because it meant he could come to Milan and see him.

"And I also want to apologise for snooping through your cupboards. I needed to find some table cloth for the table. As well as an iron and ironing board."

"It's alright Bizio. As if I could ever be mad at you after this."

Ermal gestured to the meal. The smile never left his face through the entire evening. The risotto that Fabrizio had made was delicious. Next came the desert. Ermal couldn't help thinking just how lucky he was. Honestly, what did he deserve to have such an amazing boyfriend like Fabrizio? After their meal they both cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher, before just resting on the sofa, Ermal laying down with his head on Fabrizio's lap as the TV played in the background. This was such a perfect evening and Ermal forgot that he was up since 6am. Having Fabrizio around gave him new found energy.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13!  
> Apparently 13 is a unlucky number but idk  
> I'd say Ermal is pretty lucky.
> 
> Hopefully, if I don't get side tracked again, chapter 14 will be up in a few hours  
> I'm going to add some action, if you know what I mean ;)  
> Well I make no promises whether it'll make the final cut but I will try.
> 
> Let me know what you think of this chapter!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a /very/ interesting turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT WARNING

After a while of lounging on the sofa Ermal and Fabrizio decieded that they both wanted another slice of that cake.  Because even though it was store brought it still was delicious. And another glass of wine as well. Back on the balcony, they enjoyed the light breeze as they ate the cake and sipped the wine, talking about everything and anything. It was nice. Not that they never did things like just sit and talk but now it was different. If they wanted to kiss each other they could. They didn't have to hide their feelings.

"Oh trust me. Anita did throw a tantrum."

"Oh you should have brought them with you. I could have entertained them when you went to that talk. I'm sure I can manage looking after them by myself."

"I know but I'm a selfish man and I wanted you all to myself. Even if only for 3 days."

Ermal blushed at that. He had fallen for Fabrizio so fast and he didn't even realise when. They made their way inside and Fabrizio insited that he was going to wash up the plates and wine glasses that they had used. Even though Ermal said to just leave them in the sink. They'd load them into the dishawasher once the current load was clean. Fabrizio insisted on washing them however.

"There's only two plates and two glasses Ermal. It won't even take me 5 minutes."

Ermal pouted playfully but let Fabrizio do as he wished. As the older man began washing the plates, Ermal stood behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his chin on his shoulder, just like he did a week ago. He honestly couldn't keep his hands to himself. He felt that he needed to hold Fabrizio every second, that if he didn't he would disappear and that Ermal would be alone in his flat. That all this was a dream and that he'd wake up on his sofa, having fallen asleep watching TV.

Fabrizio smiled softly as he felt Ermal's arms around him. He felt calm. Not that he was stressing or anything but Ermal's touch was having such a calming effect on him. It was incredible. As promised, it took him less than 5 minutes to finish washing the dishes. He turned around, pulling Ermal closer to him.

"See I told you. Not even 5 minutes."

"Yeah you were right. Do you want to just cuddle in bed and watch Netflix?"

"Hmmmm it's as if you're reading my mind amore. Though I would like to take a shower first."

"Right of course. I'll get you a towel and well show you everything."

Ermal smiled softly at Fabrizio and kissed him softly before making his way into his bedroom and opening his wardrobe where he kept his towels. He took one down and passed it to Fabrizio. Once his boyfriend gathered his toiletries and clothes, he showed him the bathroom, explaining how to turn the shower on and other small other things like that even though he really didn't have it. It wasn't rocket science to figure out.

"Right. Well enjoy your shower. I'll go and change my duvet. So you know it's nice and fresh."

"Or you could join me in the shower."

Ermal hesitated. Should he? He looked at Fabrizio, who had already stripped down to his boxers and was looking at him smirking. Ermal sighed internally. Since when was he like this?

"Well let me just go get my towel and some clean clothes. Get the water started so it's nice and warm in here."

He winked at Fabrizio and left. Well Fabrizio didn't expect that. Now this was going into an interesting direction. Not that he'd try and do anything that Ermal wasn't comfortable with. He cared too much for him to do anything to jeopardise their relationship. He quickly took off his boxers and got into the shower cabin, shutting the door behind him and turning the water on. Suddenly he got nervous. Sure he saw Ermal in his boxers before and Ermal has seen him but this was different. His mind was going crazy, that this was a stupid idea, that Ermal would probably be disgusted when he saw him naked (not that there was anything wrong with him). The steam from the hot shower quickly filled the shower cabin and the bathroom and Fabri didn't even hear Ermal come back into the bathroom. Not until the shower cabin door opened and Ermal stepped inside. He smiled at Fabrizio and the older man could tell that he was also nervous.

Fabrizio wrapped his arm around Ermal's waist, pulling him close and kissing him softly. First on the lips, then his cheek. He looked at his boyfriend, properly looked at him, taking all of him. As if he was trying to remember every tiny detail.

"God you're beautiful."

Ermal felt himself blush. Whether at the compliment or whether because he got to see Fabrizio naked for the first time he didn't know. The first thought that came to his mind when he saw Fabrizio in the shower was how unfair it was that his boyfriend looked like a literal Roman God.

"Please Bizio. Take a good look at yourself. You look like you belong on Mount Olympus. You look incredible. Like-"

He was cut off by Fabrizio kissing him and pushing him against the wall. He felt Fabrizio's hands caressing his chest and honestly Ermal felt as if his body was on fire but like in a good way. He titled his head to the side, arms wrapped around his boyfriends neck, kissing him back just as forcefully, with just as much passion and just as much need. Because oh could he feel the 'need'. Fabrizio began kissing down his neck, which caused Ermal to moan loudly. They were alone in the apartment. He could moan as loudly as he wanted to and he knew that Fabrizio wouldn't mind. Something told him that this is exactly what Fabrizio wanted. He felt Fabrizio's hands on his back moving down lower to his ass. He could tell that the older man was hesitant. Ermal was too but at that moment he decided to go for it. Live in the moment. He trusted Fabrizio. Plus he wanted this. God did he wanted this. He moaned once again, tugging on Fabrizio's hair.

"Please touch me....more....Fabri."

Fabrizio didn't need to be told twice, his hands giving his boyfriends ass a squeeze, smirking against his lips as he heard him moan again. God how it turned him on and he could tell just how much Ermal enjoyed this as well. He slowly wrapped his hand around his boyfriends erection and slowly started moving his hand, his eyes glued to Ermal's face.

"Is this alright? If you want me to stop please tell me."

"God no...please Fabri...."

He bucked his hips, his moans turning into needful whines. God...the effect Fabrizio touch had on him. He could have honestly just come right there and then. Ermal felt Fabrizio's lips on his again and his other hand caressing Ermal's chest and the younger man was pressed against the wall. Fabrizio keeping up the steady pace, moving his hand up and down slowly, every now and then swiping his thumb across the slit and it honestly drove Ermal crazy. He moved his hand from Fabrizio's shoulder down to his chest, making sure to slowly move his hand down to his abdomen, before taking Fabrizio's cock into his hand and copying his boyfriends actions. He was somewhat scared that he wouldn't be good enough. He's obviously masturbated before but he never actually gave another man a hand job. What if Fabrizio didn't feel good? What if-

"Fuck Ermal."

He was cut off by Fabrizio's moan. Oh God...that sound. He needed to hear more of it. Without thinking, he looked into his boyfriends eyes before kissing him softly and getting to his knees. He didn't know where this new found confidence had come from but he knew that he needed to hear Fabrizio moan like that once again.

"Ermal...you don't have to..."

"Shhh...just enjoy."

Fabrizio looked down at his boyfriend just as his boyfriend took him into his mouth and oh  God. Fabrizio could have died. He bit his lower lip and tried to stop himself from thrusting into Ermal's mouth. He needed to control himself. Soon Ermal began moving his head slowly, taking Fabrizio deeper into his throat and honestly Fabrizio couldn't believe that Ermal's never done this before. He moved his hands to Ermla's hair and grabbing a fist full as he threw his head back against the wall, moaning loudly and tugging on Ermal's hair.

This caused Ermal to moan against Fabrizio's cock. He loved when Fabrizio pulled his hair. It felt incredible. He was getting more and more confident by the minute. Hearing the effect his actions were having on his boyfriend he began taking him deeper down his throat. God, this whole situation was turning him on so much. He was on his knees in front of Fabrizio giving him a blow job and his boyfriend was loving it. He slowly took his own cock into his hand and began moving his hand, listening to Fabrizio's moans and gasps. He used his free hand to caress Fabrizio's chest, which made the older man pull on his hair again.

Fabrizio was honestly on cloud nine. The way Ermal's mouth felt around him. It was incredible. He looked down at his boyfriend and was rewarded with the sight of Ermal jerking himself off and fuck that was so hot. The hand trailed from his chest down to his ass, giving it a light squeeze and Fabrizio couldn't help himself as he lightly thrusts into his boyfriends mouth. It seemed as Ermal didn't care and continued his actions. Soon Fabrizio felt the familiar build up in the pit of stomach. Christ, this was probably the shortest amount of time he's ever lasted.

"Fuck...Ermal I'm close."

He wanted to pull away put Ermal only moaned in protest and continued his actions, his hand back on Fabrizio's chest, caressing his abdomen and Fabrizio couldn't take it any longer. He threw his head back as he came without a further warning. Ermal didn't stop, he kept going until he swallowed every last drop and honestly Fabrizio only shivered with desire. Ermal got to his feet and looked into Fabrizio's eyes with a smirk on his face. That fucker.

"How did you like it?"

"Are you sure you've never done this before?"

Fabrizio pulled Ermal close to him and kissed him deeply, his hand caressing Ermal's entire body. He touched wherever he was able to, not even an inch of Ermal's skin was left untouched. Once more his lips attacked Ermal's neck. Gently nipping on the soft skin, wanting and needed to leave behind a mark. So everyone knew that Ermal was his. Ermal placed his hand on  Fabrizio's cheek, kissing him desperately.  It was as if he was addicted to the feel of Fabrizio's lips on his. Out of breath, Ermal pulled away, looking at his boyfriend and grinning. Fabrizio leaned forward and kissed him softly. Ermal's curls were now sticking to his face, water dripping down. Or right. Shower. He had forgotten that that's why they were in here in the first place. He kissed Ermal on the corner of his mouth and smiled softly.

"Did you-"

"Yeah....didn't take long."

Fabrizio snorted in reply. Not that he was the one to talk. This must have been like his record. Without saying another word he reached out for the bottle of shampoo and poured some onto his hand.

"Turn around, I'll wash your hair."

Ermal did as he was told, he closed his eyes and let Fabrizio wash his hair for him. He couldn't help but notice how gentle he was being and Ermal guessed that probably came with the fact that Fabrizio had to wash Anita's hair. Every now and then Fabrizio would lean forward to press a soft kiss to Ermal's shoulder, saying how beautiful Ermal was and how lucky he was to have him and all Ermal could wish for was the Fabrizio didn't have to leave him.

_Love?_ Though it sounded so right to say, well think more like, that he loved Fabrizio. Because if this what he felt wasn't love then Ermal didn't know what it was. He slowly began drying himself off, every now and then glancing at Fabrizio and smiling as he caught his eye. This just felt so natural. He wasn't nervous about anything anymore. He felt like he could achieve anything that he set his mind on. Putting his boxers on, he used his towel to his hair. He could see Fabrizio leaning on the wall behind him and just watching him.

"Like what you see Mobrici?"

"Oh very much. Do you still want to watch that movie or have I tried you out?"

Ermal snorted in response.

"Oh please. I'm still surprised you're able to stand on your legs old man."

He made eye contact with his boyfriend through the reflection in the mirror.

"Ah maybe I am older but 'inside you are many many many older'."

Ermal laughed at Fabrizio as he repeated his famous line from the Eurovsion press conference. He hung his towel on the drying rack and turned in the direction of the door.

"Are you coming? We have a nice, warm bed waiting for us and now I just want to cuddle."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well shoot me  
> I can't write smut but I tried.  
> I know it sucks and I know the chapter is short, I'm sorry
> 
> but despite me sucking at writing smut, I hope you're enjoying the fic so far


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> people find out and #metamoroisrealparty

The next morning Ermal woke up to the sun shining on face and Fabrizio's arms around him. Checking the time and realising it was only 7am he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. However no matter how hard he tried to fall asleep, he couldn't. Sighing, he slipped out of bed, careful to not wake his boyfriend. He picked up his dressing gown and made his way to the kitchen where he started making coffee. Checking his phone, he noticed that he had several texts. All of them containing a link.

**_From: Vige_ **

**_Shit Ermal....this is not good. Not good at all. Please don't freak out._ **

**_From: Marco_ **

**_Do you want the label to take care of it and get the article taken down?_ **

**_Never mind it wont work. Too many people read it already._ **

**_From: Paolo_ **

**_Well that was quick. But also when were you going to tell us?_ **

**_From:  Mini Me (Rinald)_ **

**_Ermal...are you okay? It's just a stupid gossip magazine no one will take it seriously._ **

**_Okay...I take that back._ **

**_From: Sab_ **

**_Why aren't you answering Mamma's phone calls? She's worried about you. As am I. Please text or even just tweet so we know you're okay._ **

**_From: Mamma <3_ **

**_Is it true? Why didn't you tell me? I'm not upset I just wished you told me first. I love you no matter what and I'm happy for you._ **

Ermal looked through all those text messages. This was bad. He knew whatever that article they sent to him contained, it was bad. Taking a deep breath, his hand shaking slightly, he clicked on the link. The several seconds it took for the article to load were the longest of his life. The article loaded and the first thing he saw was the articles cover photo which was a photo of him and Fabrizio. The headline read:

**Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro officially a couple? Yes it seems so! Here's how the things add up!**

Ermal continued reading the article. At first it mentioned how the two of them were always hugging and were really close which wasn't new to Ermal. Articles pointing that out kept all the time in the lead up to Eurovision. Next was the reminder of the article that another site posted a week about, about the video of the two of them at the airport in Rome.

**_And whilst both singers denied this all facts are pointing to the fact that maybe they were lying. Yesterday Moro was spotted in Milan several times._ **

Below were two embedded tweets from two girls who met Fabrizio in a shop in Milan. Below that were several tweets from someone called Gee. Who, turns out, must live in the apartment building across the road from Ermal.

**_Guys. So I'm sitting on my balcony when I see movement on a balcony of the apartment on on the otherside of the road. Now I've never seen who lives there but shit whoever it is Fabrizio Moro is on their balcony._ **

**_Guys...I think it might be his girlfriend or something? It seems like he's setting up for a dinner for two._ **

**_Why would I be lying about this? Here. It's a shit photo, since the apartment is on the other side of the street from mine but come on. You can tell it's Moro._ **

Attached to the 3rd tweet was a photo of Fabrizio on the balcony, setting the table. The poster was right. Even though it was on the otherside of the road, you could tell it was Fabrizio. Ermal felt his heart drop. He just knew what the other tweets would be saying.

**_HOLY SHIT. It's not a girlfriend but Ermal Meta._ **

  ** _WATCH THIS VIDEO_**

Attached to the final tweet was a video, the man filming this was saying something, which Ermal didn't  pay attention to and then the video showed him going to hug and kiss Fabrizio. There was no mistaking the fact that it was the two of them. There was no way they could deny this. He clicked off the link to the article and put his phone down, his heart beating in his chest. They knew. Everyone knew. That's not how he wanted this to happen. He wasn't ready for this. Taking a deep breath he replied to the text messages saying that he was fine, that nothing was wrong and that he was just slightly pissed off.  He apologised to his mother for not telling her sooner and he promised he'd call her in the afternoon when Fabrizio went to the talk.

Fabrizio. What if this was too much for him? What if he decided he can't deal with this and doesn't want to be with Ermal anymore? Thousands thoughts raced through his mind. He was happy that his family and friends were supportive but what about his fans? He didn't want to check Twitter but honestly he didn't think that anything could get worse than this.

The first few tweets he  saw were aimed at the gossip website and the man living across the street from him.

**_How dare you? What gave you the right to tweet this! You are invading their privacy. So what if they are together? You had no right to out them like this._ **

**_@AndreaVigentini @montanari_marco Guys @MetaErmal hasn't tweeted anything. Is he alright? We're all worried about him._ **

**_No one deserves to be outed without being ready to come out and for people in the public eye like Ermal and Fabrizio it must be much worse_ **

Ermal was thankful for his fans. It made him feel somewhat better to know that his fans had his back and were worried about him. He also saw #MetaMoroIsRealParty trending and he couldn't help but chuckle softly at that.

**_I KNEW IT! #MetaMoroIsRealParty let's bring out the 'fanta' guys!_ **

**_Don't you guys think that #MetaMoroIsRealParty trend is a little bit too much? You don't know how Ermal and Fabrizio are taking this._ **

After scrolling down for a little bit longer, he got up and walked over to the bedroom to see if Fabrizio was still asleep. He knew his boyfriend wouldn't have been angry if he woke him up to tell him about all this but Ermal didn't have the heart to do it. Fabrizio looked so peaceful sleeping. Closing the door behind him, Ermal made his way back to the kitchen and sat down at the table, opening up Facebook. He'd do a Facebook live. To tell his fans that he was alright. That everything was fine. Once the livestream started, he forced himself to smile at the camera. He waited a little bit before speaking.

"Hi guys. Thank you for your concerned tweets. I am fine. I only just woke up. As you can probably tell."

He picked up his coffee and took a sip, reading out some commets and saying to some people. He didn't know how else to continue. He didn't want to deny it of course. Plus no one would believe him and it wouldn't be fair on Fabrizio. Though he didn't want to confirm it either because he hasn't spoken with Fabrizio about it. He really didn't think this live stream thing through did he?

"Look...I am angry at the article. They had no right to publish this and well I am also angry for the guy across the road for thinking it was okay to post something like this. I....no, we-"

"Are you in the kitchen Ermal?"

He was interrupted by Fabrizio calling out to him from the corridor before coming into the kitchen and the view of the camera. Thankfully he was wearing clothes, Ermal thought. Fabrizio waved at the camera, of course he had no idea what was going on.

"Hello guys! What's going on Ermal?"

"Right, I'll end this here. We need to talk. Bye guys."

He quickly ended the live stream and put his phone down. Taking a deep breath he looked at Fabrizio, trying his best to stop the tears that threatened to spill.

"They know Bizio. They saw.  Everyone saw."

Fabrizio looked confused. What did Ermal mean by that. By 'they saw'? Who saw? Saw what? He saw the look on Ermal's face and it broke his heart. He moved a chair and sat beside his boyfriend, gently rubbing his back and holding him close.

"Who saw what amore?"

With shaking hands, Ermal picked up his phone again and showed the article to Fabrizio. _It wasn't that bad,_ Fabrizio thought.  Just gossip they could always deny that. But then he saw the tweets from the man across the road. Oh....now he understood. He finished watching the video and he heard Ermal sob against his shoulder and his heart broke. His boyfriend didn't deserve this. He held Ermal close, placing soft kisses to his cheek, his forehead, the top of his head.

"Look at me amore."

Ermal looked up at Fabrizio and his heart just broke, again. He gently wiped the tears from Ermal's face before taking his hands in his own.

"I know it's hard. I know you weren't ready for this. I know it's not the way you wanted everyone to find out and I'm sorry it happened like this but please remember that I am here for you. I am here. We will get through this together."

Ermal nodded and once again hugged Fabrizio. He was so grateful for him. He was also relieved that Fabrizio didn't run away. That he would be here for him because Ermal didn't think that he could manage this without him.

"I looked on Twitter Bizio...it's not that bad...the fans are supportive and they even started trending #MetaMoroIsRealParty."

"See? It's not all that bad."

"I know I just....I wanted to do this on my own terms. Tell them when I was ready and they took that away from me."

"I know...and I'm sorry. Do you want to maybe tweet something about this or are we keeping a radio silence?"

Ermal sighed. No. He'd speak about this. Especially now that he has spoken with Fabrizio. His fans deserved to know. They had spent the night sticking up for him, tweeting messages of support at him.

"Would you mind if we did a livestream? Since there's no point denying this anymore and I think that our fans deserve to know."

"Of course. Can I just get some coffee first?"

"As long as you make me another one."

Fabrizio chuckled and was relieved to see Ermal smile again. He got up from his seat and picked up Ermal's cup going to the kitchen counter to make them coffee. Once he was done he came back and sat beside Ermal, who had taken out his laptop and had everything set up. All he had to do was press the 'go live' button.

"Are you ready Bizio?"

Fabrizio nodded and Ermal's started the live stream. They waited a few seconds to give people a chance to click onto the video.

"Hi again. So me and Fabrizio decided to make this video in response to the article that was published last night. I did not see the article until this morning when it seemed that every person that knew me, had sent me the link to it."

He looked at Fabrizio who only smiled encouragingly at him and gently squeezed his hand under the table. He was proud of him. Proud how strong Ermal was.

"What the article said is true. Me and Fabrizio are in a relationship. The reason we didn't say anything was because we've only been together for a week. We wanted to wait until we were ready. However the man living across the road from me took that away from us. And yes I am pissed off. Who wouldn't be? But now there is no point in hiding or denying it. It the video you can clearly tell it's me and Fabrizio and you guys deserve to know but please. I would appreciate it if you respected our privacy."

Ermal was about to say something when Fabrizio spoke up, his arm wrapped around Ermal's shoulder, gently rubbing his arm.

"This is new for both of us. We didn't want to hide it from you but we also weren't ready. Even though I have personally known for a long time that I'm bisexual, this is still new for me. It's new for both of us."

Fabrizio looked at the comments from fans appearing and was happy to see that most of them, if not all, were positive. The fans congratulating them. One comment in partical caught his eye, _'Yeah so there's no new song you were working on last week, is there?'_ Fabrizio pointed the comment out to Ermal and the two laughed at it.

"Yes sorry. There is no new song that we were working on last week. Though that's not to say that we won't work on another song together."

"Without even asking me first Meta?"

"Well you agreed to it last week."

Fabrizio chuckled softly and once again looked at the comments he saw one that made him smile.

"Oh Anita and Libero absolutely love zio Ermal. Yes they know. Of course I was going to tell my children. They're wonderful and understanding. Though Anita doesn't understand why we're not living together right away."

Ermal chuckled as he listened to his boyfriend. They spent about 30 more minutes just answering questions from fans. Both their fears having gone out the window. It seemd that everything was be fine.  They both had supportive friends and families but most importantly, they had each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is sucky.   
> though I hope you enjoy it nevertheless.  
> I just realised that for a fanfic called When In London, it's taking them an awfully long time to actually get there xD 
> 
> as always, I hope you enjoyed this!  
> let me know what you think!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So things may or may not have gotten somewhat worse

After the live stream Fabrizio cooked up some scrambled eggs for them as well as some more coffee.

"Do you want me to cancel the talk?"

"No. Why would I want you to do that? I was actually hoping I could come with you. You know I love listening to you to talk about music."

"If you're sure. I don't know because of the article. But if you're sure that you are up for it then of course you can come with me."

They had finished their breakfast and Fabrizio went for a shower and Ermal decided to call his mother. He did promise her he'd call after all and he did owe her an explanation. She picked up almost immediately. Ermal was happy to hear her voice, he stepped out onto the balcony and sat down on the floor.

"Ermal, tesoro. How are you?"

"I'm good mamma. I'm sorry. For not telling you sooner. We just wanted to be sure first but well  that didn't really work out."

"It's alright. I understand. I'm sorry for what happened. They had no right to do that. How are you feeling? How's Fabrizio?"

"I'm fine mamma. I'm just really pissed off. I just wanted to do this when I was ready and not by some asshole filming us from his balcony...and Fabrizio is fine too. I think he's just more worried about me."

"Well I'm glad the two of you are alright. I watched your live stream. The two of you look happy together. You should come and visit soon. Bring Fabrizio with you."

Ermal smiled softly. He spoke with his mother for another 20 minutes until he heard Fabrizio come out of the shower. He said goodbye to his mother and said that he needed to go as they had to get ready. Standing up he stretched and put out his cigarette when something on the other side of the road caught his attention. Looking across at the other building, he saw a man sitting on his balcony, with his phone in his hand. That must have been the guy.

"Hey! Don't think I can't see you asshole!"

When the man realised that Ermal had spotted him, he quickly went back inside, shutting the door behind him. Great. Fabrizio had appeared in the balcony door, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Seeing him, Ermal quickly pushed him inside, before shutting the balcony door.

"What was that?"

"The guy from twitter. I saw him trying to take photos of me again and I imagine that had he seen you, he would have taken photos of you too."

"Do you want to call the police?"

Ermal thought about it. It could work. It could spook the man and maybe he'd stop trying to spy on them. He only shook his head though and made his way towards his bedroom to get dressed. There was no need to get the police involved. Unless he does something like that again, then he'll report him. Once he was dressed, Ermal grabbed his car keys and went to find Fabrizio.

"Ready?"

"I need to call Maurizio first."

"Alright well I'll go get the car from the garage and wait outside for you. You still have Rinald's key to lock the door, right?"

Fabrizio only nodded and Ermal left his flat and made his way to the underground garage. A few minutes later he was sitting in his car, parked outside his building, waiting for Fabrizio, absentmindedly scrolling down twitter, not paying attention to any tweets in particular.

"Guys! This is the building that the guy from twitter was advertising a room for. Then this must be Ermal's apartment building!"

Ermal stopped. He looked into his car mirror and saw a small group of girls, some wearing his merch, standing and talking excitedly next to the door to the building. _Are you fucking kidding me?_ Ermal sighed and slouched down in his car seat, hoping the girls wouldn't notice him. This day just kept getting better and better. Now some girls, he didn't want to call them fans his fans knew when too far was too far, had found out where he lived. Soon it would probably be all over the internet. He didn't want that. He liked living here. It was a nice quiet building and he had nice neighbours. He just hoped that this wouldn't be a constant issue. That this would just be a one off incident and that he'd never see people waiting for him outside his own house. He was about to call Fabrizio to tell him to go to the garage when the door to the apartment opened and Fabrizio stepped out, almost immediately being ambushed by the girls. Ermal could see the confused look on Fabrizio's face. Where had these girls come from? They were clearly waiting for Ermal. How did they know?

"Fabrizio can we take a photo? Is Ermal still outside? Will he come out?"

Fabrizio only shook his head as he tried to push past them. This was ridiculous. Had that man from the building across the road published the address to Ermal's flat?

"How the hell do you know where Ermal lives?"

He didn't care if he didn't sound nice. This was crazy and they were overstepping a huge line.

"Oh we scrolled down the twitter of the guy who posted that video of you and it turned out that he was advertising a room for rent so we contacted him saying we were interested and we got the address. Then we cancelled the viewing earlier today."

Fabrizio just looked at them shocked. Did they really think what they were doing was alright? Did they not see just how crazy they were being? Fabrizio just couldn't believe it and in the car Ermal was going through the same thing. Should he call the police? This could be classed as stalking right? No, he'd wait. If, once they came back, those girls were still here, Ermal would call the police. And potentially start looking for a new place to live. The thought of that alone made him roll his eyes.

"You do know that this is classed as stalking? I suggest that you leave."

Saying that, he walked around one of the girls blocking his path to the car and got inside. He didn't even have the time to put on his seatbelt before Ermal took off. Fabrizio glanced at his boyfriend and he could tell Ermal was pissed off. And understandably so. His house, his personal space, was being invaded by people.

"Amore..."

"Please not now. Let's just get to the venue."

Fabrizio nodded and didn't say anything else. Ermal felt bad for snapping at him like that but he was just angry and just wanted to concentrate on getting to the venue and away from his flat. He would apologise to Fabrizio when they got there. It didn't take them too long to arrive as the venue wasn't too far from Ermal's flat. Getting out of the car Ermal followed Fabrizio towards the building. 

"Sorry for snapping at you."

Fabrizio turned to Ermal and smiled lovingly at him, reaching out to take his hand and intertwined their fingers. Since everyone knew about them now he could freely do that.

"It's alright Ermal. You have every reason to be upset. Do you maybe want to go and have dinner at a restaurant after this? So we don't have to go back straight away?"

"Can't we just order some pizza and spend the evening on the sofa? You'll be going home tomorrow and I just want to spend the remaining time with you and you alone."

Fabrizio smiled softly at his boyfriend. He knew what Ermal meant and Fabrizio wasn't fussed. He'd do anything as long as he could be with Ermal.

"Of course we can amore."

He leaned over and placed a soft kiss to Ermal's cheek before pulling away slightly as they were greeted by one of the organizers of the event. The woman was nice enough, didn't mind that Ermal had come along with Fabrizio. She even offered for Ermal to speak as well but he only shook his head, saying he was only keeping Fabrizio company. Inside, she lead them to a room where all the guest speakers were waiting and just talking to each other. Ermal and Fabrizio made their way to the table that had a coffee machine on it. They both could do with some more coffee.

"What are you going to do about those girls?"

Ermal sighed. He really didn't want to think about that, let alone talk but he knew Fabrizio meant well. Plus it was a valid question and he wasn't 100% sure what he should do. Would calling the police be too much? Would it upset his fans? No, his fans would understand, his fans would know not to come and invade his personal space in the first place. He couldn't believe what made those people think that what they were doing was alright. That all of it was alright. He was about to reply, when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Paolo.

"What is it?"

"The people from the label want an emergency meeting. I think you know  regards to what?"

"I'm busy today and tomorrow. I'm sure that I've said everything I had to say in my live stream.  If they haven't seen it, it's on my Facebook."

Ermal could hear Paolo sigh on the other side. He knew that Paolo meant well and that he wasn't the one who wanted to organise the meeting. He was just the middle man.

"Ermal look...they're adamant to talk about this. To talk about what this means for your career. They want you to have a public, official appearance to talk about it."

"Look...not now. I want to figure everything out. This is exactly why we wanted to keep it to ourselves. Tell them that when I am ready I'll tell them and will do all the interviews they want me to do."

He sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head on Fabrizio's shoulder. Fabrizio only gently rubbed his back. He couldn't imagine what Ermal was going through. Especially since this was all new to him. The realisation that he liked men and now his label pressing on him for interviews. He was lucky that his manager had decided to just post a statement on Fabrizio's Facebook page and that would be it. That his management weren't too fussed about getting Fabrizio on TV. He knew that sooner or later he'd be asked to do interviews about it.

"Look Paolo. Please. You know usually I'd be more than happy to do interviews about any topic but at the moment this is all too much. Especially with the tour starting on Tuesday. Please."

"Alright. I'll see what I can do Ermal but I am not making any promises and I can't cancel any of the interviews we have set up for the tour. We can just ask beforehand that they do not bring this up."

"Thanks Paolo. I owe you a lot. Alright, I have to go now. I'll see you on Tuesday at the airport."

He ended the call and looked at Fabrizio. He was about to say something when once again he was interrupted. This time by someone coming up to speak to them. From their badge he read that they were also one of the guest speakers. A music professor.

"I am sorry to interrupt. My name is Lucio Galassi. I am a professor at The Umbra Institute where I teach advanced music composing. I am also one of the main organisers of this event. I just wanted to thank you for agreeing to the talk. I think some of the students are actually more excited to hear you talk rather than the classical violinist who had dropped out."

"A pleasure to meet you signore Galassi. There's no need for thanks. If there's anything that I will willingly do is share my passion for music with the musicians of tomorrow. Thank you for thinking of me."

They had a short conversation about music that they listened to which Ermal joined in whenever he was asked a question but for most of it he stayed silent. His find pre-occupied with the tour and today's events. It's not that he was dreading the tour but he knew what most of the interviewers would be dying to ask him. It was one thing to say it on a live stream with no one else looking and yet and it was another with a complete stranger asking him questions, asking about his personal life. Questions that he didn't even know the answers to. He can just imagine it. _When did you know you liked men?_ When? About 3 weeks ago. He smirked to himself at that. He was being ridiculous. Paolo said that before the interview they could ask for those questions to not be asked. It's not that he didn't want to talk about his relationship, he wasn't ashamed of it, it's just that there was a lot of things to get his head around.

"Amore?"

Ermal looked up at Fabrizio. He must have zoned out for a while. Ermal smiled softly at him.

"Si? Sorry, just thinking."

"I have to go now. I will see you back here after?"

Ermal nodded and they shared a quick kiss before Fabrizio made his way towards the back of the stage area, whilst Ermal made his way out of the green room and towards the back entrance of the hall so he could watch and listen to Fabrizio's talk. As he managed to find a spot against a wall in the corner, Fabrizio had just come on stage much to the excitement of all the students in the room. Ermal smiled softly as he watched his boyfriend introduce himself and begin talking about music. He spoke about his career, how he started out and how he got to where he was now as well as some of his musical influences. Then they opened up the questions to the audience. Most of the questions were professional, asking about how he over comes a writing block, his experience at Sanremo and Eurovision, what his biggest inspiration was, but of course it couldn't stay professional forever.

"Don't you worry that your relationship with Ermal Meta will affect your career?"

Fabrizio sat up straight at that and tried his best to hide his displeasure at this question. Then again, did he really think no one would bring this up. There was a quiet murmur from the crowd and Fabrizio sighed.

"I don't think that my dating life will have any effect on my music. Maybe beside me writing some more sappy love songs."

At that the crowd chuckled softly.

"I have always expressed my opinions through my music. Be it political or not. As musicians you will have to remember that people will try to shit on you. They will try to bring you down for the tiniest things that you have done. Don't let them. Do I think I might loose some fans over my relationship? Maybe. But those will be people who do not have an open mind and who judge others for how they lead their lives and that's not what music is about. If those people cannot accept me for who I am or look past it and just enjoy the music then I do not want those people around me."

The crowd cheered and applauded Fabrizio. Ermal could only smile, trying not to let the tears fall from his eyes. Everything that Fabrizio said was right.

"But what if such a thing affects your album sales?"

"So what if it does? I know that I have fans who will support me no matter who I'm dating. Fans who are here for the music. I personally don't care if it'll affect my album sales. I don't see why my personal life should affect my music. I would happily quit my music career if it meant that I could be happy in life and with the people that I love. Thank you for your questions.  I think that this is all that we have time for."

The presenter nodded and said his thanks to Fabrizio for coming before the man walked off stage. As soon as he stepped back into the green room, he was ambushed by Ermal, who threw himself at Fabrizio, wrapping his arms around the older man's neck. He was so touched by everything that Fabrizio said. Especially about Fabrizio quitting his music career. Though of course that was not something that he wanted. Of course it wasn't.

"Are you alright Ermal?"

Fabrizio was quite startled by the hug. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriends waist, holding him close, as long as Ermal needed the hug. Because he clearly did need the hug right? When Ermal pulled away from the hug, he was grinning at Fabrizio, which left the older man confused as to what had caused his boyfriend to be this happy.

"Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. We've only been apart for just under 20 minutes Ermal and you come and ambush me like this."

"Well let's just say that I've been touched by your words."

Oh. Yeah that made sense now. Fabrizio chuckled softly and placed a soft kiss to Ermal's cheek, taking his hand and intertwining their fingers. He did mean every word of what he said. Though he knew that his fans wouldn't stop supporting him just because he was in a relationship with Ermal. He was always open about the fact he supported the LGBTQ community and his fans stayed with him so he doubted that this would be an issue for them.

Fabrizio said his goodbyes to the organisers of the event, as well as taking a few photos, before excusing himself and saying that they had to leave now. They had both decided to go to a pizza place that Ermal said was very good. They had ordered two large pizzas which they decided would be than enough for them and whilst they waited for their pizzas to be done, they went to the shop next door to buy some food for breakfast because ' _Really Ermal. You need more food in your house,'_ as well as a bottle of wine for the night. Once they turned the corner into the road where Ermal's house was he couldn't believe the sight in front of him. That small group of girls grew and there was way many more people there now. He needed to say something but he didn't know what. He drove right into the buildings underground garage and sighed as he turned off the engine.

"Are you alright?"

"How bad is it going to make me look if I call the police?"

"Not bad at all. Ermal...you have every single right to do that and for all they will know it could have been one of your neighbours who made that call. This is out of order. They have no right to invade your privacy like that."

Ermal only nodded in reply before getting out the car. Once they had everything, he locked the car and they made their way towards the lift. Once they reached his floor, he stepped outside and was greeting by the sight of Segniora Donini, who lived in the apartment across from his, as well as Segnior Russo, who lived on the floor below him. Ermal did not like this one bit.

"Buonasera."

"Buonasera Ermal. Look, I hope you won't be angry at us but your fans are causing quite the disturbance downstairs. We've just called the police to ask them to move as they didn't listen to any of us. Now I know what you're going to say. I know this is not your fault. My granddaughter told me everything. I just hope that you won't be angry at us. I know that they're your fans-"

"It's alright segniora. I was going to do so myself. They may be my fans but they are causing a disturbance. You had every right to do that."

"Oh I'm glad you say so. I hope that they won't bother you here anymore Ermal. I really do. You're a nice young man."

Ermal smiled softly at her and they had said their goodbyes before he and Fabrizio made their way inside his apartment.

"Well that takes care of that."

After putting the pizzas down, Ermal threw himself on the sofa. He knew that once the police showed up this would quite a stir in his fandom and that he'll get a lot of backlash. Taking out his phone, he clicked on the Facebook app and typed out a post.

**_Ciao._ **

**_I would like to address a few things before it all gets out of hand._ **

**_First of all. To the people outside of my apartment building. I just want to say that you have over stepped a line. I am more than happy to stop for photos if stopped in the street, given that I have the time, but sitting outside of my house, my personal space is an invasion of my privacy. Unfortunately, due to the amounts of people outside and them making quite a lot of noise, my neighbours have been forced to call the police. J did not want for things to get that far but it had to be done as the noise was disturbing the other occupants of the building. I will not hide the fact that I am disappointed. I imagined that some of you knew better than to sit outside my house. I may be a famous person but it does not mean that I am not entitled to my own privacy. I hope that this will be a one of incident and that I will never have to see my fans hanging around my house._ **

**_Ermal._ **

Fabrizio, who had been standing behind his boyfriend the entire time he was writing the message, smiled at him lovingly. Fabrizio gently began massaging his shoulders.

"Well said Ermal. I know that your real fans won't be angry at you and that they will have your back but for now..."

He reached out and took Ermal's phone from his hand, as well as his own from his pocket, and walked over to the shelves which were above the tv and put the phones down.

"No more phones. No more Twitter or Facebook. We're going to spend the evening on the sofa eating pizza and drinking wine and watching Netflix, just as you wanted. No more distractions."

"But Bizio, you're the biggest distraction there is."

"Stronzo."

Fabrizio laughed as he sat beside his boyfriend, pulling him close and peppering his face with soft kisses. Wanting to distract Ermal from everything that had happened and just show him that he was loved no matter what. Because even though it was most likely too soon to say it, he knew deep down that he loved Ermal and would do anything for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay look  
> I promise  
> they will get to london, eventually   
> also sorry that it took me a while to post this today  
> I was distracted by complaining about the lack of la fame di camilla music on uk spotify or itunes   
> as well as spending 3 hours on duolingo learning italian
> 
> let me know what you think about this chapter, I am open to constructive criticism too, if you think i can do something to make this better then let me know!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems that the same kind of doubts plague Ermal and Fabrizio

Saturday night and Sunday morning went way too fast for Fabrizio and Ermal's liking and before he knew it, Fabrizio was back at his own house. He sighed at the silence that filled it. The children were at Giada's and he was going to pick them up tomorrow. Having booked everything for London the previous week, the hotel rooms, the flight tickets, there was not much he could do. Having unpacked his bag, he laid down on the sofa his phone in his hand, scrolling down a news website, seeing what was going on in the world. When he spotted an article about his and Ermal being a couple he rolled his eyes. Was this really _that_ news worthy? For an official news website to publish it? He was sure there were more important things going on in the world. He read a few more articles before putting his phone down and making himself comfortable. He might as well take a nap.

He was having a nice dream. _He and Ermal were on a boat out at sea, just relaxing, a bottle of beer in their hands, their guitars laying beside them and a nice summer breeze ruffling Ermal's hair. Ermal was laughing at something, he was clearly relaxed, more relaxed than Fabrizio has ever seen him. Suddenly he heard a loud buzzing noise. Then a few moments of silence, it seemed that Ermal hasn't noticed anything, he continued talking to Fabrizio, pointing out something to him. Though Fabrizio couldn't hear what he was saying as the loud buzzing noise returned. Then silence for a few seconds. Then it returned, followed by a loud banging and..._ oh.

Fabrizio sat up on the sofa and rubbed his face. The loud buzzing sound he heard was his doorbell and the banging noise was someone banging on his door. Getting up he quickly made his way to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by Giada, his sister as well as the children.

"What are you doing here? I thought I was going to pick them up tomorrow."

Giada chuckled softly as she slipped past him to go inside, carrying a few plastic bags. Anita and Libero hugged him, saying that they had missed him while he was in Milan.

"I had missed you two but weren't you supposed to stay with mamma until tomorrow?"

"They were but Anita said she wanted to come back home today to see you. So here we are. We stopped to pick up some takeaway on the way and picked up Romina who said she wants to pick your brain about a certain someone and honestly so do I."

Romina and Giada quickly set up the table and soon the 5 of them were sitting around the table enjoying dinner. After they had finished, Anita and Libero went to their rooms to play and the adults sat outside in the garden.

"How are you Fabri? With everything that has happened?"

"I'm good. I'm just pissed off as Ermal wanted to wait. He wanted to wait until he was ready to tell everyone about us. Not to mention, thanks to the guy from twitter, his fans found out his address. He's considering moving. Even though his neighbours called the police to complain about the fans outside on Saturday evening, there were still some fans outside of his building today. Though now Ermal has the European tour. He leaves on Tuesday."

"It's honestly disgusting what that guy did. I can't imagine what he's going through."

"You should ask him to move in with you."

Fabrizio raised an eyebrow and looked at his sister. It was too soon for that though, right? They've only been together for about a week. Though they have known each other for much longer and spent a lot of time together. They knew each other inside out. Though what if that would have been too much for Ermal? What if he didn't want their relationship to progress that fast. Personally, Fabrizio would drive to Milan to help Ermal move but he knew it was too soon.

"No. I mean...God I'd love for him to live here with me but I know that it's most likely too soon for him. I don't want to scare him away."

"As if you could ever do that."

"You know what I mean Romina. I really care about him. I don't want to do anything to ruin it. Plus, now he's going on tour. He has other things to worry about."

"If he's still considering moving once he comes back, you should suggest it. Maybe he won't be scared."

Fabrizio thought this over. Romina was probably right. If Ermal said he wasn't ready then at least Fabrizio would know. He always thought things over too much. He often scolded Ermal for doing this when he himself did it too. Normally he wasn't like this but he cared about their relationship so much and he was scared of doing anything to sabotage it. The late afternoon soon turned to early evening and it was time to put the children to bed. Giada and Romina had already left and Fabrizio was sitting on the edge of Anita's bed, reading her a bed time story. However it seemed that no matter how long he read, Anita was still wide awake. Sighing, he put the book down and with a smile on his face, looked at his daughter.

"You should be sleeping now tesoro. Is something wrong?"

"No papa."

She was silent for a while and Fabrizio put the book down on the bedside table and began to gently stroke her hair. He was about to say something when Anita spoke again.

"What shall me and Libero call Zio Ermal now?"

Fabrizio looked at her quite surprised. He imagined that the children would still call Ermal zio. Plus he was worried. What if their relationship didn't work out? How would he tell that to the children?

"Well I suppose you can still call him Zio Ermal."

"No papa. You are together now. So do we call him papa too?"

"I don't know Anita. For now stick to Zio but when you see him again, why don't you ask?"

Anita nodded, for now satisfied with the answer but Fabrizio's mind was going crazy. What if that question would scare Ermal? Oh God. What had he done. What if Ermal thought that was too much of a commitment? But then again what if he didn't? He cared a lot about Anita and Libero anyway. What if Ermal would be happy to be a part of their family? Maybe then he'd even considering moving in with them without Fabrizio having to suggest it? He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the moment Anita had fallen asleep. Carefully getting off her bed, Fabrizio made his way to his own bedroom. Time for bed for him too.

 

Tuesday morning came much faster than Ermal anticipated. So now here he was, at 5am, getting out of a cab at Malpensa airport. Making his way inside he joined Paolo and his band, who looked just as dead as he did. The first stop on their tour was Austria and Ermal was excited. He had never been to Vienna before and was looking forward to seeing the city.

"Alright. Everyone had got their boarding passes and passports and luggage and everything else?"

"Yes mom."

Paolo glared at Andrea who only chuckled, beginning to make his way towards security check. Surprisingly it didn't take them too long to get through it and soon the group was sitting at a cafe, trying to wake themselves up with the help from a good cup of coffee. Ermal was on his phone, using a real estate app to look up new apartments in Milan. He decided to look at places in Rome. He loved Milan and he would miss it should he decide to move to Rome but he would be closer to Fabrizio. Dino, who was sitting beside him, noticed him looking at places in Rome and smiled.

"Thinking of moving closer to your boyfriend?"

Ermal sighed and put his phone down, rubbing his eyes as he drank the rest of his coffee. That wasn't the only reason but it would deffinitley be a bonus.

"Not only that. I still noticed some girls outside my flat who just so happened to 'walk' by wearing my merch the moment I walked out of the building. And well yeah...if I moved to Rome I would be closer to Fabrizio. And my mom. I mean Bari is closer from Rome than Milan."

"Why don't you and Fabrizio move in together? He just moved to a new house didn't he?"

"I can't ask him that. We've been together for over a week. I can't ask to move in with him. It's way too fast."

However those weren't his only doubts. What if Fabrizio got tired of him quickly if they lived together? Ermal had his moods and sometimes was set in his routine. He was alright with it being disturbed for a few days but when he was at home and alone he really set into it. Plus not to mention Anita and Libero. Whilst they liked him and Anita had asked several times when he would move in with them, he couldn't help but be scared. What if he wasn't a good enough guardian? Because in a way he would be their guardian in a way, right? Fabrizio might even task him with taking them to school or picking them up. Not that he minded of course but what if he wasn't good enough?

"But you never know until you ask? It seems pointless to me that you'd spend money getting a new place if in a few months down the line you and Fabrizio end up living together."

"What makes you think that in a few months we'd end up living together? How do you know that we'd even be together that long?"

"Because the two of you have been making heart eyes at each other since Sanremo so clearly this relationship is something you both wanted. And I don't think you'd stand being apart from each other that long. Even if you lived in the same city. I mean, a week after visiting him, you went back. Then you got together. Then after a week Fabrizio came up to Milan."

"He had a reason."

"But he could have just come for the talk and go back. But he came in early to spend time with you. Honestly, Ermal. You two are like the most oblivious people ever and it hurts. I've been your friend for a long time Ermal and I know you. Trust me that when I say speak to Fabrizio, I know you won't regret it."

Dino smiled at him before turning to his other side to join Roberto and Andrea's conversation about what kind of car Andrea should buy. Ermal was left alone to his thoughts. Dino was right. Out of all his friends, he probably knew him best. Plus Ermal couldn't think of a time that Dino had given him bad advice. Maybe he should speak to Fabrizio? 

However he didn't have too much to dwell on how to start that conversation because Paolo pointed out that their gate was now showing which meant it was time for them to leave. And of course they had to get the gate that was as far away from them as it could be. It took them nearly 20 minutes to get there however it was no issue as they had priority boarding. Ermal didn't see the need in it. They would get a seat regardless. However once they got on the plane it turned out that he was sitting beside Paolo, who wanted to spend the entire plane journey talking about the upcoming interviews. Ermal knew that Paolo meant well and it was his job after all but for fucks sake it was 6am.

"Alright. So what topics do you want to rule out from the interviews?"

Ermal only groaned. The seatbelt sign had barely been switched off and Paolo already had his laptop out, ready to start working. With his eyes still closed, and head resting on the back of his seat, Ermal hoped that Paolo might get the hint and leave him alone but it wasn't the case.

"My sexual orientation. My relationship with Fabrizio. Pretty much anything about my personal, dating life."

"Is it because you're worried? Cause you know, the label won't drop you just because you're gay."

Ermal sat up at that, opening his eyes and turning to look at Paolo.

"Well it's the 21st century. I should fucking hope not. But no. The reason I don't want to talk about it just yet is because....I don't know how to answer those questions. Like if they ask him how long I've known that I liked men. Well, until about 3 weeks ago I wasn't even aware about the fact that I liked men. Or at least admitted it to myself. I just need some time to figure out how to answer these questions."

Paolo nodded, making quick notes on his laptop, that he needed to disclose to the interviewers that Ermal didn't wish to talk about those topics just yet.

"But as a friend...how are you and all that. Did you really only realise 3 weeks ago?"

"I don't know. I mean...maybe I only let myself realise this 3 weeks ago or come to the realisation that I like men. I don't know. I'm somewhat confused. I mean I 100% know that I have feelings for Fabrizio. So there is no doubt in that. I'm just trying to pin point the exact moment I may have subconsciously made the realisation that I liked men before."

"And how is that coming along?"

"Now that I think about it, I may have always spoken a little too fondly about this guy Alessandro that used to be in my science class."

He chuckled softly to himself and Paolo smiled. Ermal would be alright. Of that Paolo was sure. He may have been his manager and all but he was also his friend and  of course he was worried about Ermal's wellbeing. But Paolo knew that Ermal would be fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay hi  
> so I've had a little writers block where chapter 17 was concerned  
> I know it's a little shit but I had to write something  
> I now have a clearer plan for the next chapter so theres that!
> 
> i hope you enjoy this and let me know what you think! 
> 
> This chapter is brought to you by Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again soundtrack and a shot of vodka


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ermal arrives in Vienna

Once they landed in Austria and collected all their luggage, Ermal and the band got cabs to their hotel. Everyone agreed on a few hours break so they could catch up on sleep. Ermal was sharing a room with Andrea who had fallen asleep the moment his body hit the bed. Ermal stepped outside to the balcony and closed the door behind him, lighting a cigarette and sitting down on the plastic chair that was out there. He took his phone out of his pocket and decided to FaceTime Fabrizio. A few seconds after clicking call, Fabrizio picked up. He was still in bed and it seemed that Ermal woke him up.

"I'm sorry Bizio. Did I wake you?"

Fabrizio rubbed his face before smiling softly at the sight of his boyfriend. God how Ermal missed that smile. Even though it's only beed 2 days since he saw Fabrizio.

"Mmmm that you did. But don't worry about it. If it wasn't you it would have been Anita. Are you already in Vienna? Are you at your hotel?"

"Yeah I am. Everyone has decided to go back to sleep. Andrea passed out the moment his body hit the matress but I wanted to call you first."

"You look like shit. You should sleep."

Ermal snorted at that. Oh trust Fabrizio to be brutally honest like that.

"Because that's what everyone wants to hear from their boyfriend."

They spoke on the phone for a few more minutes, just talking about anything and everything when the door behind Fabrizio opened and Anita ran towards the bed. Getting on it, she spotted Ermal which delighted her.

"Zio! How far away from us are you?"

Ermal laughed softly at the sight of the little girl. If everything else failed to make him smile he knew that Anita could always make him smile, no matter what.

"Good morning Anita. Well, I'm pretty far away from you. I'm in Austria right now."

"Whoa! Have you seen any kangaroos yet?"

Fabrizio laughed softly and moved so Anita could cuddle up to him and still see the phone screen. He placed a soft kiss to her cheek.

"That's Australia tesoro."

"Oh. Well what's in Austria? Every country has something. Like Italy has pizza!"

"That's true. Well...let me think."

Both Ermal and Fabrizio thought about this. All Ermal could think of was of Franz Ferdinand the Archduke of Austria and his assassination but somehow he doubted that the start of World War 1 was something that Anita had in mind when she asked what Austria was famous for.

"Well a lot of famous classical musicians come from Austria. Such as Mozart."

"Nice one Ermal. My 6 year old daughter is sure going to know who Mozart is."

"Well...I can't think of anything else."

Anita laughed softly before she lost interest in what Austria was famous for and began asking about other places that Ermal was going to visit. When Ermal mentioned Paris, Anita's face lit up.

"Can you bring me a toy from Disneyland?"

"Tesoro, I don't think that Ermal will have the time to go to Disneyland."

"What do you mean Fabrizio? Of course I'll bring you a toy from Disneyland. What would you like?"

"Can you buy me Olaf?"

"Of course."

They spoke for a little while longer, all the while Anita either asking questions about other countries or telling Ermal 'facts' about Disney movies. Those 'facts' were things about the plots of the films but Ermal agreed that they were very important facts. Soon however Anita began complaining that she was hungry and Fabrizio had to go. Having nothing else to do, Ermal walked back inside and went to sleep.

A few hours later, they were all making their way to find some nice restaurant in town to have lunch as everyone was hungry. Paolo said that he found a place that was nice and had good reviews so the entire band made their way through the streets of Vienna to find this restaurant. A simple 10 minute walk from their hotel room to the restaurant took them over 20 minutes to get there because who let Andrea navigate? Once they arrived however they were happy to find that the restaurant had quite fast service so they didn't have to wait too long for their food to arrive. As they sat and talked about the things they wanted to do and see in Vienna, as well as the other cities, Ermal remembered Anita's request.

"Let's go Disneyland when we're in Paris."

"I didn't realise I was suddenly back on my 8th grade school trip."

Ermal laughed and nudged Paolo with his elbow. He had promised Anita that he would buy her an Olaf plush toy but then again on the other hand, who could say no to spending a day at Disneyland. Luckily for him the rest of his band agreed so Paolo had no choice but to organise the tickets because it would make more sense for one person to book them and well Paolo was the organised one. The rest of the day they spent wandering around Vienna and generally being touristy. They headed back to the hotel around 9pm as they had an morning. Well, Ermal did at least. They all said their goodnights and went to their hotel room. After showering, Ermal laid in bed just scrolling down Twitter. He was about to put his phone down and go to sleep when he got a call from Fabrizio.

"Missed me already?"

"Mmm....I was just thinking about you?"

"Oh were you? What about?"

Ermal could almost feel Fabrizio smirk on the other side of the line.

"Oh just how much I miss you and what we could be doing if you were with me right now."

Ermal felt himself blush slightly. He knew where this was heading and as much as it excited him Andrea was only a few feet away from him. He chuckled softly.

"As intriguing as this sounds I'm afraid we can't discuss that as I'm sharing the room with Andrea."

Ermal could hear Andrea's bed shift on his bed and the man turn around as well as place a pillow over his head.

"Please no phone sex whilst I'm in the room."

Ermal only rolled his eyes. It's not as if he'd actually do that with anyone else in the room. He could hear Fabrizio laugh on the other side  and he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face. God he missed that laugh and he missed Fabrizio and Christ, they were only apart for 2 days. Ermal knew that this tour would be hard but also when he would go back home it wouldn't be easier. Fabrizio lived in Rome and he in Milan. Once his conversation with Fabrizio ended, Ermal laid awake for a few more hours, thinking things over. Finally, he picked up his phone and clicked on the real estate app once again, this time looking at listings in Rome. He had made his mind up. He would move to Rome. He knew he'd miss Milan and his friends but if he had to move due to his address now being public knowledge, he might as well move closer to his boyfriend. It would be logical thing to do.

Eventually Ermal fell asleep around 2am, after having saved several of the listings to look over them once he got back to Italy, given they were still available. The next morning he was woken up at  8am. He had a long day, a TV interview, a radio interview and a few more throughout the day. His first stop was the radio station. Which was nice as it gave him more time to wake up and actually look somewhat alive on TV. The interviewer was a young woman who seemed nice enough. Paolo had spoken to the producers of the show about the topics that Ermal wanted to avoid and they agreed to it, removing several questions from their question list. After finishing his coffee,  Ermal made his way into the studio to start his interview. The questions to begin with were normal, how he was enjoying Vienna so far, whe was looking forward to the most on the tour, new music etc. It was clear the interview was coming to an end when the interviewer decided to go rouge.

"Now, I know that you had asked that this is something you didn't want to talk about, but I just can't help but ask. Since you've never expressed any interest in men, how do you know that what you have with Fabrizio is a real realtionship and not just a good friendship?"

Ermal was shocked. At the fact that somebody could be so insensitive to actually ask such a question but also at the fact that in a professional situation, where he had asked for those questions not to be asked, the woman still went ahead and did it.

"Well first of all. Yes I did say that I didn't want to talk about those questions so that should have been an indicator that you shouldn't have asked this but secondly I think I know how I feel about someone. I'm 37 years old. I think I can tell the difference between wanting to be with someone in a relationship and it just being a good friendship."

He didn't wait for her or her producers to say anything, taking off his headphones, he got up from his seat and left the recording studio.  As he came out, he saw Paolo roll his eyes and go inside to talk with the producers. Ermal stepped into the buildings courtyard for a cigarette break. Great. First interview of the tour and his wishes for his private life not be discussed were already being disregarded. He crouched down against a wall and sighed. Why couldn't his career be just about music? Why couldn't people stick to asking that? It was human nature to be fascinated with others, he guessed, especially people in the public eye but this was ridiculous. He just wanted to talk about his music, to play music, not to have been be all interested in his personal life, asking who he was seeing and all that.

After about 5 minutes of him just crouching against a wall, thinking things over, Paolo finally found him.

"For God's sake Ermal. I know you're not happy with her disregarding your request for those topics to not be discussed, did you really have to walk out? You're lucky it wasn't a live interview!"

"Please save it Paolo. It's not the fact she brought it up, it's the question she asked. I mean who the fuck even asks questions like that? Do they want me to go back in?"

"No. The producers apologised for her unprofessional behaviour and said they have enough anyway so if we want we can go.  There's some fans outside the main entrance though. Do you want to go and say hi?"

Ermal stood up and nodded. He'd definitely stop for his fans. They walked back into the building to collect their stuff before making their way out to the main entrance. Once he stepped outside, the was greeted by cheers from a not so small group of people, standing behind the barriers that the station had put up. He smiled at them and walked over to one end, as Paolo passed him a sharpie, and began signing, talking with the fans and taking selfies. The encounter with his fans had already put him in a good mood. The fans were nice and respectful. Some asked about Fabrizio, asking how he was and whether Ermal missed him.

"Oh terribly. We've spent so much time together that it feels weird not being around him all the time."

"You should tell him to do a European tour as well!"

"Hey! Small steps. I got him to start using Twitter properly."

The crowd laughed. He had spent nearly 20 more minutes talking and taking more photos. He received many gifts from his fans, letters, candy, small novelty gifts. They were about to leave when a little girl came up to him and without saying a word, she held up her hand holding out an envelope for him. Ermal smiled and crouched down in front of her.

"Danke."

The little girl smiled at him, when she heard him speak German. Ermal doubted that a girl her age was able to speak English well enough to understand him and even though he didn't speak German, he knew a few words in the language. The woman, who he assumed was her mother, smiled as well and spoke to him in English.

"She made a drawing for you and Fabrizio. She said that if you like it, the two of you can put it up in your house."

Ermal couldn't help the smile. Both at what the little girl said as well as thought of him and Fabrizio living together.

"Oh you can tell her that we most certainly will do that. I am sure that the drawing is very beautiful."

The woman translated what Ermal said to the little girl and her face lit up even more. She hugged Ermal, clearly happy with the result. Ermal took a photo with her and her mother and soon, he and Paolo were in the cab towards the TV studio for the next interview.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once more, apologise for the chapter being short  
> I know it's not much but hey its something!   
> poor ermal can't catch a break
> 
> let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy it!


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their first day in London

The days had dragged by for Fabrizio. He missed Ermal and couldn't wait to get to London with his children to begin their holiday as well as see Ermal again. They obviously called every single night but it wasn't the same. One night, they had spoken with Marco, Andrea and Dino, and they planned that on the evening of Ermal's first day in London, the three men would spend the evening with Anita and Libero, whilst Ermal and Fabrizio went out for a nice dinner together, just to spend some time alone. Fabrizio obviously haven't told the children that just yet. Ermal was going to turn up at their hotel room in the morning on Fabrizio's secon day in London, after getting into London. He would let Fabrizio know when he got there, so he could tell Anita and Libero to go and open the door. He knew that the children would love the surprise. He had booked tickets for himself and the children to go and see the Lion King on the West End on their first day in the city. He knew that the children didn't really speak English, Libero did a little bit, probably more than Fabrizio did but it was a family musical and his children loved the Lion King so even with the language barrier he knew that they would enjoy it.

Finally the day came. The night before leaving, the children stayed with Giada, and the three of them picked Fabrizio up in the morning. Once at the airport, they all goodbye to Giada and made their way towards the check in desk to check in their luggage. It didn't take them a lot of time to get through security. After buying some water and snacks for the plane journey, and a new colouring book for Anita, they were soon making their way towards the gate. Half an hour later, they were sitting in their seats on the plane. Libero sat by the window, Anita in the middle and Fabrizio in the aisle seat.

"Will we be able to see anything from the window papa?"

Anita looked up from her colouring book that she was looking from. She looked at Fabrizio and then at the window.

"I imagine so Anita. As long as there aren't too many clouds in the sky, you should be able to see something."

"Will we see the sea?"

"I think so Anita. I'm not sure of the exact route the plane will be taking but if not then you will see the English channel."

"Is it true there's an underwater train there papa?"

Fabrizio laughed softly and nodded.

"Well not exactly underwater. You see they built a tunnel and the train goes in that tunnel, under the channel and comes out in France. Or England, depending on where you are going to."

"It sounds complicated."

She then turned her attention to her colouring book. The plane journey for the most part was uneventful. Anita and Libero swapped seats at one point so the little girl could see out the window better but that was about it. They landed in Heathrow on time and, once again, they managed to go through passport control quickly, as well as pick up their bags. Once they came out, Fabrizio and the children made their way to a machine to buy a ticket for the underground for them before continuing on their journey to the hotel. It took them nearly an hour to get from the airport to Leicester Square. Fabrizio had booked them into a Radisson hotel in Leicester Square. He guessed it would be easier to get around from there as it was pretty much as central London as you could get. Once they had checked in, they went to their room. It was one big room with a small sofa and a double bed and in a room adjacent to it was a room with two single beds. The children both chose their beds and soon the family was making their way outside to find somewhere to eat. Fabrizio noticed that the man at the check in desk was Italian, so he approached him.

"Excuse me.  I just wanted to ask what would be a good place to eat? Something that's typically British? I know my son has been wanting to try some fish and chips."

"Well, right across from the hotel you have The Moon Under Water. It's a chain of pubs called Weatherspoons. They serve typically British pub food so I imagine it would be a good place."

"They allow children yes?"

"Oh yes. It is a place where families often go to eat. They only stop allowing children in after 8pm."

Fabrizio thanked the man and took a quick photo with him once the man politely asked for one. He said that should Fabrizio need any more tips about where to go he would be here and willing to help out. So Fabrizio and his children made their way to the building across from the hotel and managed to find themselves a table. Sitting down, he began looking through the menu. The children didn't even bother, both of them saying they wanted to try fish and chips. Fabrizio guessed he might as well have the same. He asked Libero to look after Anita, whilst he got up to make his way over to the bar. This was the thing he was most nervous. His English wasn't the best and he was worried that he would make a fool of himself but he obviously had no choice. Somehow, in his broke English, he managed to order 3 plates of fish and chips as well as 3 glasses of coke. The lady behind the bar asked for his table number and, after he had to go over to check, he gave her the number and paid she said that she'd bring their drinks over in a moment. Once he sat down, Anita looked up at him.

"Papa, is zio Ermal coming to London?"

"I don't know tesoro. Why do you ask?"

He hated the fact he had to lie to his children like that but it was all for the surprise. He knew that they would be happy and that they probably wouldn't be mad at him for this little white lie that he told.

"Because if he was we could see him! He could join us!"

"Well I'm not sure. Plus he is busy with the tour."

Soon their drinks and food arrived. Once they had finished eating, they had made their way down the road to Trafaglar Square. There was so much going on there and Fabrizio was an anxious mess, his eyes constantly on the children, making sure that he wouldn't lose them. He was focusing on them so much that he even managed to walk into several people. Anita and Libero made their way over to a gentleman who was sitting on the ground, making handmade rings.

"Papa! What does the sign say? Can you buy me a ring?"

"It says they're free Anni."

Anita looked at her brother and grinned, getting busy looking through the different rings. Of course it said free but the man had a tin can for money. Fabrizio dug into his pocket and pulled out £4. That would be enough, right? He put the money into the man's tin, who thanked him and once Anita had picked out her ring, the three of them made their way back over to Leicester Square and through to China Town. Fabrizio was taking photos of everything he saw as well as plenty of photo's of the children. On one of the corners of China Town they stopped to watch a street performer, who turned out to be Italian. The young man sat on a suitcase, which also doubled as a drum, and he held his guitar in his hand.

"So, I am from Italy. Anyone here has ever been to Italy?"

Some of the crowd cheered, Fabrizio included. He understood that much. Anita cheered as well and once Libero translated what the man said to her, she waved her hand and shouted at him.

"We're from Italy!"

The man turned to look at her and smiled and waved.

"I'm now going to play a song that is very famous in Italy. You should all recognise it. At least when I get to the chorus."

He started to play the guitar and Fabrizio immediately recognised the song as 'Nel blu dipinto di blu' by Domenico Modugno. The children recognised it as well and they stood there signing along with them man. They weren't the only ones. Especially once the song got to the chorus. They stood there until the man finished his set. Fabrizio gave both Anita and Libero some money to put into the man's guitar case. He was about to walk away when the younger man spoke to him in Italian.

"Thank you so much for staying to watch my set. I hope that you enjoyed it."

"Oh it was a wonderful and my pleasure. Do you always attract such a huge crowd?"

The younger man laughed softly.

"Well there's a reason I choose this spot but really. I am a big fan of your music so for me it means a lot that you stopped to listen. I won't bother you much longer. I hope you enjoy the holiday with your family."

Fabrizio was about to say goodbye, when he saw that the man was selling copies of his CD. He took out £10 from his pocket and passed it to the man, picking up a CD from his case. He smiled and waved at him.

"I look forward to giving this CD a listen once I get back home."

And he meant it. He was all for listening to new artists and helping them get discovered and he saw potential in the man. He was happy to see that inside the CD was a list of social media links. He would definitely pass the CD to people from his label.

He spent the rest of the day walking around London with his children. In the afternoon, they made their way back to the hotel, had a quick dinner, before going back up to their room.

"Alright. I want you to put on the nice clothes that I made you pack. We're going somewhere special tonight and we all need to look nice."

 It was clear the children were excited as they ran to their room to get changed. Fabrizio too got changed. Exchanging the AC/DC t-shirt for a nice, white shirt and his ripped, denim jeans for a pair of normal black skinny jeans as well as his leather jacket. Once they three of them were dressed, he looked up the way to the theatre, which turned out to be nearly just one straight line, and they made their were there. Anita spending the entire walk trying to figure out where they were going.

"Are we going to see zio?"

"No tesoro. I won't tell you where we're going. We're nearly there.  You'll see in a moment."

15 minutes later they reached the theatre and Fabrizio stopped and smiled, motioning to the sign that hung on the front of the building.

"We're seeing the Lion King?!"

Anita began jumping up and down excitedly before running to hug him. She was excited, the Lion King was one of her favourite Disney movies.

"Yes tesoro. We're seeing a musical. It is in English but you've seen the movie enough times to know what's going on."

They made their way towards the box office so Fabrizio could pick up their tickets. He booked them seats in the second row, right in the middle. Libero was looking around the theatre foyer in awe. Fabrizio noticed a few years ago that his son always noticed and commented on the interior of things as well as the architecture of the building and he wondered whether that was a career his son would one day take.

"This place is so beautiful papa. Do you think there is somewhere we can read more about the building?"

Fabrizio, who was paying for their programmes, as well as t-shirts for the children, smiled at his son, who was still looking around.

"I don't know Libero. Maybe in the programme it will. Though it is in English so I'm not sure how well we're going to understand this."

They made their way towards their seats, an usher picking up a booster seat for Anita, on the way to show them to their seats. Once in their seats, they looked over the programme, not really understanding much and Fabrizio made a mental note to ask Ermal about this. Ermal would surely help them with any translation issues they had. Soon the lights dimmed and they all stopped talking as the show began. The entire musical was amazing and Fabrizio was in awe of everything. The scenery, the costumes, the music. He realised that he's never seen a musical before. This was his first time and he was happy that it was something he could experience with his children. During the interval, he brought them a small tub of ice cream each as they talked excitedly about the show. After the second half, when the show ended, they slowly made their way back to their hotel. Anita and Fabrizio trying to sing the songs from the musical in very bad and broken English but they didn't care. They were having too much fun. It was nearly 11pm once they got to their rooms and once the children were washed and dressed, he put them to bed and went to take a shower himself.

Once in bed, Fabrizio took out his phone and called Ermal who picked up almost immedietly.

"Bizio!"

Fabrizio smiled at the sight of his boyfriend. He would never get tired of hearing the yonger man call him Bizio. No one else called him that but Ermal so the nickname had a special place in his heart.

"Ciao amore. How was the Paris concert?"

"Oh it was amazing! And look!"

Fabrizio saw Ermal walk over to his suitcase and he watched his boyfriend pull out an Olaf plushie. Fabrizio was touched. He remembered that Anita had asked for one and it seemed he actually went to Disneyland to buy one. What did he do to deserve such an amazing man like Ermal.

"Oh Anita is going to be very happy when she sees this. She's been asking about you the whole day. Though obviosuly I just kept saying that I don't know if you're coming to London."

"Aw. I can't wait to see her tomorrow morning. And you and Libero. I got Libero a Star Wars t-shirt from Disneyland. I hope he'll like it. I got you something too but that's a surprise."

"Well I can't wait for it. We actually went to watch the Lion King today. The children loved it and Libero was in awe of the interior design of the hotel. Maybe you and I should go see a show tomorrow?"

"I would not be opposed to that. I hear Les Miserables is good. Or Phantom of the Opera. We can see what they have tickets for tomorrow."

Fabrizio nodded and smiled as he watched Ermal try, and fail, to stifle a yawn. Time for bed. For both of them. Especially since Ermal had to be up ridiculously early to catch the Eurostar to London.

"Alright. Off to bed you. You're barely on your feet. I'll see you in the morning."

They said their goodbyes and Fabrizio put his phone on the night stand. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. Apparently he was more tired than he realised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my time to shine.  
> aka welcome to my ends  
> all the locations etc are legit, the man selling the rings in traf square, the beautiful (not specified in the story though) italian busker on the street corner in china town (like i swear, he's wonderful)  
> though the lion king is waaayyyy overyhyped and wayyyyyy too over priced. I've never actually seen in, beside at West End Live.  
> However, fun fact, since December 2015, I've seen Les Miserables 28 times.  
> I need to stop giving Cameron Mackintosh my money.
> 
> Hope you liked the chapter and let me know what you think!
> 
> also, their hotel is great cause sitting in leicester square you can connect to the wifi for free xD


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anita and Libero make Ermal cry in the back of a taxi

Ermal yawned as he got through passport control and out into King's Cross Station. It was so early. Well it was nearly 9am but Ermal has been up since 5. He knew he had a long day ahead of him. Not that he minded of course. He would be spending it with his favourite family in the whole world. Well, beside his own family that was. Stepping outside into the streets of London, he said goodbye to his friends. The band was heading to their hotel whilst Ermal would be making his way to the hotel Fabrizio was staying at as he would be staying with him. It was their day off and Ermal knew that he was free to do whatever he wanted. Once Paolo and the band got into their taxis, Ermal made his way towards the tube station. He didn't have one of the underground cards so he walked over to the machine to buy a ticket. He wasn't sure which ticket would be best so he walked up to a member of staff.

"Excuse me. I've just got into London but I do not have a metro card. Which ticket would be best for me to buy?"

"Do you have a contactless card, sir?"

"I do, yes."

"Then you can just pay by tapping your card onto the card reader if you wish. If you plan to travel a lot today, once you reach £11 worth of travel, it will stop taking the money of your card. If not, then it'll depend on what zones you wish to travel in to choose what ticket to purchase."

Ermal thought about that. He doubted that they would travel a lot. From what Fabrizio said, everything they planned to see today was within walking distance. There was no need for Ermal to buy a ticket then if he only would travel once or twice.

"Ah well I think I'll pay by card then. How do I get to Leicester Square?"

"Just get on the Picadilly line. It'll stop right at Leicester Square station and then take the 3rd exit into China Town."

Ermal thanked the man and moved to the side to get out the way and to quickly text Fabrizio before he went to get the tube. He knew he could have just looked that up online but it was easier to ask the man right there and then.

**_Hey Bizio. I'm going to get the metro to Leicester Square so I don't think it'll be too long before I get to your hotel._ **

He took out his earphones, put them in, played some music and made his way towards the entrance to the tube station. About 15 minutes later he stepped out into Leicester Square. Even though it was barely 9am there was a lot of people around. Most of them probably rushing to work. It didn't take long for Ermal to spot the hotel. Fabrizio had texted him earlier to tell him that he had asked for an extra key card for Ermal and that he could find it at the check in desk. Walking inside the hotel he quickly made his way over to the check in desk. The lady behind the front desk smiled at him.

"Welcome to Radisson Blu. Are you looking to check in sir?"

"Actually I just wanted to pick up my keycard. My boyfriend and his children have arrived yesterday."

"Of course. What's the reservation name?"

"Moro. Fabrizio."

After checking the details, the lady passed Ermal his keycard and wished him a pleasant stay before Ermal made his way towards the lift. Once inside, he swiped the keycard and pressed the 6th floor button. Taking his phone out again, he texted Fabrizio saying that he was in the lift up.

 

Fabrizio heard his phone go off again and he saw that Ermal text him that he was already in the lift. Anita and Libero were sitting on the sofa eating toast which they ordered up for breakfast, watching TV. Fabrizio made his way to the bathroom. He needed to make it look like he was busy so he had an excuse to ask Libero and Anita to open the door.

"If someone knocks, it'll be room service with my breakfast. Can you two open it then?"

Libero only nodded and Fabrizio made his way to the bathroom. He waited and soon he heard the knock on the door.

Hearing the knock, Libero got up from the sofa, followed by Anita who was curious. When he opened the door, expecting it to be room service, the children were surprised to see Ermal standing there with a suitcase. For a while the children just looked at Ermal, shocked.

"Surprise?"

Anita squealed happily and ran past her brother, throwing herself at Ermal. He swiftly picked her up, placing a soft kiss to her cheek. He had missed her. Libero walked over to him too and gave him a hug, still somewhat surprised that Ermal was here.

"What are you doing here zio? Papa said you were busy with your tour!"

Ermal laughed softly as he put Anita down and hugged Libero, before finally stepping into the hotel room and closing the door behind them.

"Oh well your papa might have told you a little lie. We wanted this to be a surprise. Now, speaking of your papa, where is he?"

The bathroom door opened and Fabrizio stepped out with a goofy smile on his face. God how he missed Ermal. He quickly crossed the room and pulled the younger man closer to him. He missed this. The way Ermal perfectly fit into his arms. The way his curls would tickle Fabrizio's cheek and neck. He heard Libero whisper to Anita that they should give them some privacy and the children disappeared into their room to continue watching TV. Much to Anita's dismay. She wanted to speak to her zio! Though Libero managed to convince her, saying that they probably would spend the day with him.

Once their door closed behind them, Fabrizio didn't wait too long to capture Ermal's lips with his. He missed him so much. It seemed that Ermal felt the same way because soon Fabrizio felt his back hit a wall. He felt Ermal's hands all over his body. The need to just hold Fabrizio being clear. They had both missed each other and were desperate for contact. Soon however the need for air became greater and Fabrizio reluctantly pulled away.

"God I've missed you so much amore."

"I've missed you too Bizio. FaceTiming just isn't the same."

Fabrizio gently caressed Ermal's cheek. He didn't want to let go of him. Worried that if he did Ermal would disappear again and he would have to wait weeks to see him again. However it was clear that Ermal felt the same way. The gentle way with which he caressed the back of Fabrizio's neck as he looked into his eyes with a soft smile on his face. Fabrizio could melt just seeing that smile.  It was so genuine and loving. _Loving._ At that moment, without a shadow of a doubt, he knew that he loved Ermal. Though of course he wouldn't say it just yet. He didn't want to scare him away. Though he was sure that what he felt towards Ermal was love. The way he felt when he saw him after being apart. The only time he felt like that, after not seeing someone for a long time, was when he got to see his children after being away from them.  And obviously he loved them. So he didn't doubt that he loved Ermal.

"I know amore. But now we get to spend the day together. And then the evening. Just the two of us."

Ermal smiled softly and leaned over to softly kiss Fabrizio and in that moment Fabrizio could have melted. He watched as Ermal pulled away to move his suitcase to the side and throw himself on the bed. Fabrizio chuckled softly and picked up the hotel menu, passing it to Ermal.

"I waited for you to get breakfast. Anita and Libero already ate. Speaking off, Anita, Libero you can come back now."

5 seconds haven't even passed when the door swung open and Anita ran back into the room, jumping onto the bed and cuddling up to Ermal, who was more than happy to do so. Libero came in, his Lion King theatre program in his hand, most likely ready to ask Ermal to translate a few things for him. He got onto the bed and sat down beside Ermal and his sister. Fabrizio couldn't help the tears that welled up in his eyes. This was a sight that he would most certainly remember for the rest of his life. He pulled out his phone from his shorts pocket and took a quick photo. He needed to always have this moment with him.  Ermal laying on the bed with Anita in his arms, who was now telling him about the musical they watched, and Libero sitting beside them. The three of them being more than comfortable to be in each other's presence.

"Hold on a moment Anita. Just get me an English breakfast if they have them here Bizio. And a double espresso. God do I need it. Alright tesoro, you can continue now."

He turned his attention back to Anita and Fabrizio chuckled, picking up the hotel room phone to call room service. He ordered two English breakfast's with two double espressos as well as a big plate of pancakes' for Anita and Libero to share as Anita requested them last minute. Putting his phone down, he got onto the bed beside Ermal and made himself comfortable, listening to their conversation, realising how natural this felt. That maybe one day, all of their mornings could look like this.

Suddenly Ermal got up from the bed and walked over to his suitcase.

"I almost forgot!"

He opened it and pulled something out. Turning around he held out an Olaf plushie for Anita and a Star Wars jacket for Libero. Anita squealed with delight and Fabrizio wondered if that was the kind of frequency that dogs could hear. Libero too was excited by his gift. He recently started getting into Star Wars and the jacket that Ermal got him was the same one as Finn wore in the movie. Libero said that he couldn't wait until he went back to school and got to wear the jacket and show off to his friends how cool it was. Anita wouldn't let go off the plushie, even when their food came, and Fabrizio was sure that Olaf would be joining them on their day out today. As their food arrived, the children went to their room to enjoy their pancakes and watch some more TV, leaving Ermal and Fabrizio to enjoy their breakfast on the balcony, alone.

"So what's the plan for today?"

"Well we've got fast track passes for Madame Tussauds so I imagine we can go there first. Then we've also got fast track passes for the London Eye. I thought we could just get taxis there. It would probably be quicker. Especially to Madame Tussauds. From there we can get the metro to the London Eye? Then get something to eat after and then walk down to Buckingham Palace?"

"Sounds good. What time do you want Andrea and Dino to come to stay with Anita and Libero?"

"How about 6? They can then eat dinner at the hotel and we can go for dinner somewhere alone? Unless you want to go see a show?"

Ermal shrugged as he sipped his coffee. He really wasn't fussed. As long as he got to spend time with Fabrizio he would even happily sit and watch paint dry. As long as Fabrizio was beside him.

"We don't have to. Instead after dinner we can just go for a walk and enjoy London?"

"That sounds good. I heard the Covent Garden area is nice for walks. I think it's just up the road from here. Or we could go for a walk by the river. That would be romantic right?"

"Of course it does. Well we can do whatever. As long as you're with me."

Fabrizio smiled at his boyfriend. God he was so precious. He watched Ermal lean back in his seat, enjoying the coffee and the rays of the sun shining on his face. London was surprisingly warm for this time of the day but then he read that the country was still going through a heatwave. Once everyone had eaten and Fabrizio and the children got dressed, the four of them made their way downstairs and outside. Fabrizio remembered seeing a taxi lane just down the road and they made their way towards the main road. He was thinking how nice it'll be for them to spend the time together in a city where no one would recognise them. Well...he thought wrong. They had barely walked a few feet from the hotel when he heard someone say his and Ermal's names. That was all he heard as the rest was spoken in English and much too fast for him to understand.

"Oh my God. Ermal! Fabrizio! Hello! Welcome to London!"

Turning around, they saw a small group of girls, some of which were wearing Ermal's merch. He gussed that they were in the city for Ermal's concert tomrrow. So much for not being recognised in a country where the two of them weren't famous. However he smiled at them and waved.

"Hello. Are you here for tomorrow's concert?"

"We are! I came down from Scotland, my friend here from Ireland, and these two are from Manchester."

Ermal did all the talking, since Fabrizio didn't really speak English. However his boyfriend translated for Fabrizio and Fabrizio couldn't help but be touched that these girls came from all over the UK to see Ermal perform.

"Wow. That's pretty amazing. Thank you so much. I hope you enjoy your time tomorrow. We're going out to discover the city."

"Oh we will! We're meeting up with some girls who are coming from some other parts of Europe. We're all going for a big international wolf meal tonight."

Ermal laughed softly. It still amazed him that people travelled so far to see him play. It was incredible and he didn't think that he would ever get used to it. The girls asked him and  Fabrizio for a photo and the men agreed, quickly taking the photo and saying their goodbyes. Soon, they were in the taxi on their way to Madame Tussauds.

"Papa, where are we going?"

"You'll see Libero. It's a surprise but I am sure that you and Anita are going to love it."

Anita was sitting cuddled up to Ermal, not wanting to let go of his hand. After a few minutes of silence, she tapped his arm and looked up at him.

"Zio...what shall me and Libero call you?"

Ermal looked at her confused. He didn't understand her question. He had always been zio Ermal. Why should that.... _oh._

"Well you can still call me zio."

"But it's different now. You and papa are together. We can't call you papa though. That's papa. It would be a little bit confusing otherwise. To call you both papa."

She pointed to Fabrizio, who Ermal noticed was blushing slightly. Hearing his daughter's question Fabrizio couldn't help but blush. However he was worried. Was this the moment that Ermal realised that their relationship was moving too fast? He knew he told Anita to ask Ermal that question the next time she saw him but honestly he imagined that Anita would forget by the time they saw him in London. He was smiling, trying to hide just how anxious he was being. Ermal was a bit surprised...and touched. The fact that the children had accepted him as part of their family so quickly. That neither of them had a problem with him dating Fabrizio and the fact that Anita had wanted to call him papa too. He was about to say something, when Libero spoke up.

"How do you say papa in Albanian? Maybe we could call you that. If you want us to call you that, of course."

Once again Ermal was made speechless and touched once more. He felt tears well up in his eyes. He couldn't believe that this was happening to him. He was about to respond when he thought about Fabrizio. What if Fabrizio wouldn't be comfortable with his children calling him that? What if this was going too fast for him and he wasn't comfortable with it? Ermal looked up at Fabrizio, almost too scared to see his reaction but his fears were washed away almost immediately as he saw Fabrizio wipe a tear away from his eye. When he caught Ermal's eye and saw the unspoken question written all over his face he only smiled and nodded. Ermal turned his attention back to Anita and Libero.

"Well if you two really want to call me that, papa in Albanian is babë."

"Babë. Babë. Babë."

He smiled softly as he listened to both Anita and Libero trying to say the word. He felt a tear fall down his cheek. He wanted to wipe it away but it was too late. Anita had already noticed.

"Why are you crying babë? Did we do something wrong?"

Ermal shook his head, unable to stop the tears falling. He never imagined something like that could happen to him. He liked children but he somehow never dwelled on the idea of having any children himself and now here he was, his boyfriends children wanting to call him papa. Not only that but they wanted to call him papa in his native language. It was a lot for him to take in. The fact that Fabrizio had no issue with this, the fact that so quickly he got accepted into their family. The fact that despite being together for such a short amount of time Fabrizio clearly wanted him to be a part of their family.

"No of course you didn't tesoro. I'm just really happy. Happy that you wanted to call me babë."

Anita smiled at him and rested her head against Ermal's arm.

"Of course we do. You're part of our family now."

For once Ermal was very thankful for the fact that they were stuck in traffic. It gave him quite a bit of time to compose himself before having to step out of the taxi and face people because how could he stop himself from crying after the conversation that they just had?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yeah yeah I know it's a popular trope for Anita and Libero to call Ermal babë in fanfictions but its a damn cute one because god dammit i teared up writing this  
> because let's be honest. 6 year old children have no filter and say what comes to their mind so for me it is totally plausible that Anita would just throw this question at Ermal randomly as if asking him what kind of juice he wanted.
> 
> And damn right do I think Ermal would cry. and Fabrizio.
> 
> Alright I'll see myself out now. also prepare yourselves for Fabrizio and Ermal's date in London bc asdhafkjdsf I may have teared up writing that too. Well a part of it now to like write the rest of it. 
> 
> let me know what you think!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ermal and Fabrizio go on their date and realise that they've both been worrying for nothing

The four of them had spent a wonderful morning at Madame Tussauds. As Fabrizio anticipated, Anita and Libero had a wonderful time at the wax figure museum. They had spent nearly 4 hours there and once they came out, they made their way over to a cafe chain called Pret to grab something  quick to eat. After paying for their food and drinks they sat down at a table by the window to take a rest from walking around so much. Though it was more for the benefit of Anita. Fabrizio knew that if they didn't take a break she would soon start complaining that her legs hurt and they still had a lot of walking to do today. Looking through the book of the wax figures that were in the museum, Libero was explaining to her who all the football players and other sports people were. It was clear that Anita had no real interest in sport but she still listened to her brother and asked questions. He always listened to her when she talked about something she liked so it was only fair she would do the same. Fabrizio and Ermal mostly ate in silence, listening in to the children's conversation or smiling at each other when they caught the other looking at them. Once they had finished their food they crossed the road to get the metro to the London Eye. It took them about 20 minutes to get to London Eye and they soon joined the people in the Fast Track queue. Once Libero realised they were going on the London eye he was excited. Anita however wasn't as convinced. She held on tighter to Ermal's hand. Noticing this, Ermal picked her up and held her close.

"What's wrong Anita?"

"I'm scared babë. What if it breaks and we fall? Or what if we get stuck at the top? I don't want to go on."

"It's quite safe Anita. You don't have to worry about it getting stuck or breaking. We will be fine."

They have moved forward in the queue and were about to get into the pod when Anita started crying, shaking her head and saying she didn't want to go on. Ermal smiled softly at Fabrizio and Libero, stepping to the side.

"You two go. I'll wait down here with Anita."

"Are you sure? Anita, tesoro, you have nothing to be scared of."

"I don't want to go papa."

"It's fine Bizio. I'll stay here with her. We'll get ice cream. Would you like that Anita?"

The girl nodded and Ermal smiled at his boyfriend and his son. Fabrizio nodded and he and Libero made their way into the pod and Ermal and Anita stood and watched them slowly move up before going to an ice cream vendor not too far from the London Eye. At that point Anita had stopped crying and Ermal put her down on the ground.

"What flavour would you like Anita?"

"Vanilla. With strawberry sauce."

Ermal told the man what ice cream they wanted and soon they were sitting down on a bench, enjoying their treat. In that time Eraml googled how long it takes to go around the London Eye. 30 minutes. He looked around, trying to see what he and Anita could do withouth going too far away, when he spotted a sign for an arcade. Perfect. Once they finished their ice cream, they made their way over to the arcade, Anita pretty excited, her mind already set on what kind of prizes she could win. Once inside, Ermal walked over to a machine and paid for a few tokens. He and Anita walked around, trying to see what they could play. First they decided to play a round of air hockey and Ermal sadly had to admit defeat. He didn't even have the chance to let Anita win. She was a born natural at this game and Ermal was quite impressed. Afterwards they walked from one machine to another, playing different games, Ermal collecting Anita's tickets for her. Checking his phone, he realised that Fabrizio and Libero should be getting off any minute so the pair made their way over to the prize counter to get their tickets counted and see what prizes Anita could get. Turned out that Anita had enough tickets for a few prizes. She chose a pink fluffy pen for herself, a pen with a football on top and a plastic ring with a big, fake gem stone on it. As they walked outside, she passed the ring to Ermal.

"You can give the ring to papa. You can say it's from you."

She smiled at Ermal, quite proud of her idea and Ermal couldn't help but grin. Anita was so adorable and he was definitely going to give the ring to Fabrizio. Just as they walked back over to the London Eye, Fabrizio and Libero stepped off the attraction. Anita ran up to them, giving Libero his prize and showing off her fluffy pink pen. Fabrizio chuckled softly as he tried to keep up with his daughter excitedly telling him about the arcade and how she 'whooped Ermal's ass' in air hockey. Fabrizio had to tell his daughter that it was not a nice thing to say and he made a mental note of the TV show she heard it on to make sure to switch that show off when it aired again. They made their way across the bridge, stopping to take photos in front of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey before making their way over to St. James's Park. As they strolled through the park, making their way towards Buckingham Palace, Fabrizio smiled as he looked at Ermal.

"And did you win anything in the arcade?"

"Mmm....not really. Though Anita won this ring and told me to give it to you."

He pulled the ring out of his pocket and showed it to Fabrizio who raised an eyebrow as he looked at the ring and then at Ermal.

"Are you proposing to me Meta?"

Ermal stopped. _What?_ Of course he wasn't. Panic washed over him. Fabrizio sounded serious, did he really think that Ermal was proposing? Not that Ermal would mind but it was too soon and they haven't even- _oh._ He saw Fabrizio smirking at him and he only rolled his eyes.

"Please. I have better taste than that."

Fabrizio chuckled softly and took the ring from Ermal, managing to fit it onto his pinkie finger. He laughed softly at the comically large 'gem'. Calling out Anita's name, he lifted up his hand and showed the ring to his daughter who laughed at the sight of it and skipped over to them.

"See babë? I told you papa would like the ring!"

"Yes you were right Anita."

The girl grinned at them before running ahead to her brother, who was feeding biscuits to a squirrel, much to Anita's delight. Ermal crouched down and took out his phone, filming a video of the children feeding the biscuits to the squirrel. He doubted it was good for the animal but it was all they had. Once the children got bored, they continued to walk through the park until coming out by Buckingham Palace. They took several photos outside. A few of just the children, a photo of Fabrizio with the children and they asked a couple to take a photo of the four of them. Right away Fabrizio set that photo as his phone lockscreen. It was too precious not to. Anita took off her little bagpack and pulled out a plastic crown out of it. Fabrizio didn't even have a clue that she had packed it. She put it on, much to the amusement of the people around them, and told Ermal to take a photo of her outside the palace because she too was a princess. Ermal chuckled softly and did as he was requested. Of course Anita would do something like this. Once they were done at the palace, it was time to head back to the hotel. Ermal googled where the nearest station was and they made their way towards Victoria train station. Fabrizio was carrying Anita as she began complaining that her feet hurt. He wasn't surprised. They did walk around a lot today.

Once back at the hotel, they still had an hour until Dino and Andrea were supposed to arrive. They had spoken with Anita and Libero who were more than happy to stay with them. They've met Andrea and Dino on several occasions before and Anita said she liked them a lot, especially Andrea who she said was funny, to which Ermal muttered  that he was funny looking, making both the children laugh and Anita threatened to tell Andrea that he said that. They had agreed that the two men would have dinner at the hotel restaurant with the children, which Fabrizio said he'd put on his bill because no matter how much Dino argued, Fabrizio said that they were already doing them a big enough favour by staying with the children. Ermal and Fabrizio took it in turns to take a shower, both wanting to freshen up before they went out for their meal. Ermal had called and booked them a table at a stake restaurant called Flat Iron, which came highly recommended.

Once Fabrizio was done with his shower, it was Ermal's turn. He locked himself in the bathroom and sighed. Looking into the mirror and he saw just how prominent the bags under his eyes were. Usually he didn't mind them. They were a part of him and he accepted that however today he wished they were gone. He wanted to look nice. Looking around his toiletries bag, he found what he was looking for. Some congealer that he had brought ages ago. After his shower, he dried his hair and started getting dressed. He opted for a white shirt with a maroon suit jacket and matching trousers. He wanted to look nice. It was a special night. It was after all their first offical date. A proper date where the two of them would be out and alone together. As a couple. He heard a knock on the door and soon heard the voices of Dino, Andrea and Marco. Putting all his toiletries back into his bag, he left the bathroom, just in time to hear Anita tell on him.

"...so I said that you are funny and then babë said that you are funny looking."

Judging from the look on their faces, they had no idea what Anita meant when she called him babë, however Andrea turned to look at Ermal with a raised eyebrow and a challenging look on his face.

"Oh he said that?"

"He did!"

"Anita you traitor."

Ermal chuckled softly and winked at the girl who only grinned and tried to look innocent. She walked up to him and hugged him.

"I have no idea what you are talking about babë."

Ermal laughed softly and picked her up, placing a soft kiss to her cheek, much to Anita's delight. He was about to ask where Fabrizio was when the door to the children's room opened and Fabrizio stepped out and Ermal had to bite the inside of his cheek not to gasp. Fabrizio was wearing a white shirt as well as a black suit jacket and matching trousers. It seemed that Ermal wasn't the only one who had the idea to make an effort. It even seemed that Fabrizio had tried to tame his hair, though whatever he did, didn't really help. Ermal put Anita back down on the ground and smiled at his boyfriend.

"You look amazing Bizio."

"You can talk amore. You look amazing as well."

Fabrizio wrapped his arm around Ermal's waist and smiled at him lovingly, leaning over to place a soft kiss to his cheek. Ermal saw Andrea roll his eyes and he chuckled softly. After saying good night to Anita and Libero, Ermal and Fabrizio left the room and made their way towards the lift. Once the lift door closed behind them, Fabrizio wrapped his arms around Ermal's waist, pulling him closer and kissing him passionately. Ermal welcomed the kiss, his arms instinctively wrapping around Fabrizio's neck. He smiled against Fabrizio's lips which made the older man pull away with an amused look on his face.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing. It's just this situation. In a lift."

Fabrizio laughed softly in agreement and soon they were walking out of the hotel, towards the restaurant that Ermal had booked a table at. It took them about 15 minutes to get there. Once inside, they were lead to the back, where thankfully there weren't too many people. Fabrizio was glad for that as he wanted to talk with Ermal. Once they made their order and their drinks were brought to them, Fabrizio took Ermal's hands in his.

"I'm sorry for Anita and Libero."

Ermal looked at him confused. What did Fabrizio mean?  The children did nothing wrong. He gave Fabrizio's hands a gentle squeeze. It was clear that he was anxious about something? Was it because of Anita and Libero wanting to call him babë?

"Is it because of earlier in the taxi?"

When he saw his boyfriend nod, he smiled softly and lifted Fabrizio's hand, placing a soft kiss to the tattoo on his hand.

"Bizio, you have nothing to be sorry for. It's alright. Really."

"I know you said that but we've only been together for such a short amount of time. I don't want you to feel forced into anything. You know you can say no to them. I'm sorry if this is too much for you."

Fabrizio was rambling at this point. Ermal knew this well. He always did that whenever he was anxious about something. Ermal smiled at him and leaned over, kissing him softly.

"You have nothing to worry about. I've known you for a while now. The children as well. It does not bother me. In fact I feel touched that they have no issues with welcoming me into their family and lives. The fact that you don't mind me being a part of your family."

He lifted up his glass of wine and chuckled softly before taking a sip.

"Plus you're saying this as if it was that easy to say no to Anita. You know she has everyone wrapped around her little finger."

Fabrizio laughed softly and nodded. Ermal's words had reassured him. He was thankful. So the children didn't scare Ermal away. He still wanted to be with Fabrizio. He wasn't scared. It put Fabrizio at ease.

"Also, I've wanted to talk to you about something as well Bizio."

And just liked that Fabrizio tensed up again. Oh no. Here it was. A talk. Maybe Ermal didn't want to be with him. Maybe he wanted to take some distance. It was too for him after all.

Ermal could see Fabrizio tense up and he sighed mentally. _Way to go Meta._ What a beautiful sentence starter after the conversation you just had.

"It's nothing bad. I just...I've been thinking. I think I'm going to look for an apartment in Rome. I've decided to move anyway after people found out where I live and it would make more sense to move to Rome. I'd be closer to you. We could see each other more often...and it's closer to Bari. I wouldn't have to travel that far to see my mother and Sabina and maybe they could visit me more often that way."

He looked at Fabrizio to see reaction and was rewarded with one of the most beautiful sights in this world. Fabrizio was smiling at him however that was not it. The restaurant was dimly lit as it was, a candle next to them and in that light Fabrizio just looked so handsome. More handsome than normally if that was even possible and Ermal felt as if he could cry with happiness. What did he do to deserve this man?

"I'm happy to hear that! I'm sure that Anita and Libero will love having you live closer to us and I definitley will."

He wanted to suggest that Ermal doesn't need to look for an apartment. That he can move in with them but he stopped himself. Was it too soon? Then again Ermal was alright with the children calling him babë. Maybe he wouldn't be opposed to that. _Well you don't know until you try._ Taking a deep breath Fabrizio spoke again.

"But...how about...and I understand if you don't want to...what if you moved in with us?"

Ermal looked at Fabrizio quite surprised. So his worries had been for nothing? Fabrizio wanted him to live with them? He wanted Ermal around more often? He smiled at him softly.

"Are you sure Bizio? Don't feel like you have to suggest it. I understand if you want your space."

"Ermal...ever since your visit a few weeks ago all I could think about how amazing it would be if every day could be like that. The four of us enjoying breakfast together. Watching movies together. Just living together. I am more than sure and yes I know we haven't been together long as a couple but beside that, we've been spending so much time together since Sanremo. I know you probably just as well as you know yourself. I've never been more sure of anything."

Ermal was silent for a moment. He didn't know what to say. Everything that Fabrizio said was true. They did pretty much know each other inside out. They've spent so much time together that they already know each other's habits. He looked at Fabrizio and before he could even think about what he was saying, the words were already out of his mouth.

"Ti amo Bizio."

_Oh God. I've blown it now._ He didn't mean to say that out loud. Not that he didn't mean those words. Of course he did.  Of that he was sure. Another thing he was sure of was that Fabrizio would most likely be scared away. He fucked it up. He fucked it all-. He felt Fabrizio's lips on his and all his worries washed away. Fabrizio didn't leave. He didn't make any excuses that it was too soon. Fabrizio kissed him. _That was good, right?_ The kiss was over way too quickly for Ermal's liking. He looked Fabrizio in the eyes and he felt relaxed. Ermal felt Fabrizio squeeze his hand.

"Ti amo anch'io Ermal."

Fabrizio grinned at Ermal and all Ermal could do was grin back at him. He couldn't find the right words. He didn't even know what he wanted to say. Fabrizio loved him. Fabrizio wanted to be with him. They would live together. Soon however, their moment was ended by the waiter bringing them their food. They ate their stakes, making small talk. It felt so comfortable, so natural. After their dinner, they went on a walk through the streets of Covent Garden and Soho. It felt amazing to be walking the streets with Fabrizio, just holding him hand, no body bothering. Nobody stopping to ask them for photos. How Ermal loved and cherished each and every second of that evening. Once they got to Soho, they found a small Italian bar and they decided to go for a drink. It was only 8pm and they said they'd be back by 10pm the latest. Sadly Ermal had to be up in the morning for an interview with an Italian radio station based in London. They sat down at the table, Ermal with a glass of Aperol spritz and Fabrizio with another glass of wine.

"So when do you think you'll want to move down to Rome?"

"Probably after I come back. I think I only have another month left of my contract anyway. I was going to extend it again but seeing that people know where I live there's no point. I guess I'll start packing the heavier stuff. Book a moving service. Get the stuff to your house."

Fabrizio smiled softly as he heard Ermal say that.

"No amore. Our house."

Once again, Ermal could have melted at that. Their house. They would be living together. He would get to fall asleep in Fabrizio's arms everynight and wake up to him every morning. It was an incredible feeling and Ermal just couldn't wait. For the tour to be over so he could start the moving process, so he could move in with Fabrizio. They spent about an hour at the bar, having one more drink each, before slowly making their way back to their hotel.

It didn't take them long to get back. Opening the door to their room, they found Andrea on the bed with Libero on one side and Anita on the other, asleep as the movie they were watching continued playing. Dino and Marco were sitting outside on the balcony talking. Stepping onto the balcony, Fabrizio and Ermal smiled.

"I hope the children weren't a problem?"

"Oh come on Fabri. They're little angels. They were no problem at all. Have a nice evening?"

"That we did."

Fabrizio pulled Ermal closer to him and kissed him softly.

"Please just wait until we leave. We'll wake Vige up and we'll be on our way. Ermal, Paolo said to be at the station at 9am and not a minute later."

"Yeah yeah I know."

Back inside Ermal helped Fabrizio move Anita and Libero to their beds, while Marco and Dino tried to wake Andrea up. Which was easier said than done as the man was a very heavy sleeper. However when Ermal and Fabrizio came back into the room Andrea was sitting up on the bed, rubbing his face.

"Glad you could join us Sleeping Beauty."

"Fuck off Meta."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think I've ever typed as fast as I did when I typed up this chapter   
> Look at these precious beans. They both were worrying for nothing 
> 
> I hope you like it!  
> let me know what you think!


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